New Revelations
by A. Rouge. K
Summary: Sakura has no memory of anything until age 7, and she has a bad habit of never going all out when facing the Akatsuki. On a mission with Naruto and Kakashi they run into the Akatsuki who know about her past and who she is. contains War, Romance,& Swearing. Editing by Elivira
1. Enter Sakura

**~Okay here are a couple of things you need to know before reading this story...First ages:**

**Sakura, Naruto, rest of rookie 9 and team Gai- 18**

**Akatsuki- ranges from 24 to 29 (use your imagination for them if you want:)**

**~This may turn into a romance story(not sure though) but there will be some drama and friendship going on here...and of course Adventure! ( i also don't use endearments that often sorry)**

**So here ya go**

_**Konoha**_

I laughed as Naruto and I walked down to our favorite ramen place. Nowadays the only people I was close to where Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade, Ino, and maybe a few others. I had started to feel weaker and weaker after we failed to save Sasuke, I definitely wasn't as bright and cheery as I used to be.

Naruto, my brother figure, and Kakashi, my father figure, have always been there for me and I was very grateful for that. Yet sometimes I still felt weak even though I had pretty much surpassed Tsunade, passed the ANBU exams, and was one of the best kunoichi of my time; I felt weak, after all that I had still failed to save him, he was still out here somewhere.

I had no memory of anything up until the age of seven.

The loss of memory baffled me and everyone because no one could find anything that would have caused it. All I could remember is being in the middle of the woods and being found by Kakashi, from then on he had taken care of me. I wanted to know what my life was like before I was seven, and why someone would just leave me out in the middle of the woods. Did my real parents hate me? Did they do it for my own good, or theirs?

Where they dead? It ran through my head every day.

"Hello! Earth to Sakura-chan!" I jumped unconsciously, it was Naruto

"Geez don't yell at me, baka. I was just thinking about my memory loss again..." I trailed off.

Naruto's face instantly softened and he hugged me.

"Hey, you know that I'm here for you no matter what." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

'He has always been able to read me like a book. I should fix that so he won't worry so much.'

"Thank you. Now if I am ever in need of your oh-so-philosophical advice I will be sure to ask." I said smirking.

Naruto pulled away and smiled playfully. "Aww Sakura-chan, you're so mean!"

I laughed, "I have to humble you sometimes or you get out of hand. Anyways everyone knows that I'm way sma-"

I was interrupted by a monkey masked ANBU who kneeled down in front of me.

"The Hokage requests your presence immediately. Your sensei, Kakashi Hatake, is already there." The ANBU poofed away before we could reply

Naruto put his arms behind his head. "I guess Baa-chan has another mission to give us, I wonder why Sai isn't coming, he's a part of team Kakashi too…and I'm actually starting to take a liking to the guy."

"You know you aren't supposed to call her that!" I punched him playfully on the head. "I knew you two were starting to warm up to each other, But I still don't know why he has that nickname for you though...dickless." I muttered the last part under her breath.

"Hey what did you say?!"

"Oh nothing," I smiled sweetly "Come on, let's go." Naruto followed behind muttering under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like; "It isn't even that small…"

'I wonder what kind of mission Tsunade has for us. I bet it's not going to be that much fun though, probably just escorting someone again.'

Little did I know that this mission would change my life forever...

**Hoped you guys liked it;) Please review! first story ever so i would like some pointers. thx!**


	2. Guess Who's Back

**~Thank you sooo much for the reviews...and yeah i don't plan on stopping at the first chapter (as you can already guess;) This one may be a little less serious than the other one...just saying.**

**So here is the next chapter...and of course read and review!**

_**Konoha**_

When Naruto and I arrived in the Hokage's office, we found Tsunade staring intensely at the wall to the right of my head, deep in thought. Kakashi sat in a chair reading his orange book.

_Same old Kakashi...I bet he has read that book over fifty times, at least!_

I cleared my throat, hoping to get Tsunade's attention.

"Oh, good you're all here," Tsunade said smirking. "I have an A-class retrieval mission to retrieve an important scroll with information pertaining to jinchuuriki, the Akatsuki are also after it. From what Intel has given us, the scroll has the information of how to control jinchuuriki."

At hearing this Naruto growled, Kakashi put his book down, and I put a hand on Naruto's shoulder as his anger grew.

"Why can't they just leave us alone? I'm sick of always running away, of my friends getting hurt by those monsters...or even worse by me," Naruto said, I saw him shoot me a fleeting glance.

I knew what he was referring to, the time we fought with Orochimaru and Kabuto and he went into the Nine-tails form. When I tried to stop him he lashed out at me with one of his four tails and I have a scar on my upper arm to prove it.

"Settle down Naruto, I'm fine. This mission will slow down the Akatsuki." I said, lightly squeezing his shoulder.

"She's right Naruto," Kakashi piped in, "Now let's listen to Tsunade-sama so we can get this done."

Naruto relaxed slightly and I smiled. The Akatsuki had hurt him, emotionally and physically. I wanted to hug him and tell him it would all be over soon, but everyone knew that this was far from over.

**'You got that right Saku,'** a very familiar dark voice said from inside my head.

Two years ago I had learned how to keep my inner shut. Even though sometimes I kind of enjoyed her company, I had to seal her away for two reasons. One being that I found out that my inner was actually a lesser demon, and then I knew that meant no good. Secondly, she was just plain annoying.

So she was back and the thought of it left me baffled, but I didn't show it. I didn't want the other's to worry.

_What the heck are you doing? You're supposed to be sealed away god damnit!_

**'Well I'm sorry but your little didn't last I guess.'** She was obviously not sorry.

_Whatever, I'll just deal with you later. Shut up for a moment and that would be just great, _I snapped.

**'Fine, fine...but I'll be back…'** she said back, I could just imagine her laughing to herself a cute smile plastered to her face that didn't seem to fit.

_Man she is going to be a handful._

"The scroll is said to be in the land Hidden in the Mist. That is all the intel we have, but knowing Team Kakashi I think you guys will be able to find it with no problem!" Tsunade said confidently.

"Hey! That's barely anything. The Mist is not that small and you know that Baa-chan!" Naruto exclaimed with a frown on his face.

"The general location is better than nothing Naruto...and don't call me that you twit."

"Not my fault that you hide your age! You're known for being a-"

Flick!

All Tsunade needed was a flick to the head and he was across the room with a large bump on his head.

**'HAHA! And I see that Naruto is still the same idiot.' **the demon laughed.

_Yep he's still a knuckle-head... Teasing Tsunade about her age was a bad move. Aren't you supposed to be quiet right now? _I thought with irritation.

**'I just couldn't resist. Considering I have been locked up and haven't gotten my daily Naruto dose...'**

"You will leave in 20 minutes, so I suggest you pack extra supplies. It is very likely that you will encounter Akatsuki," Tsunade said seriously.

That caught everyone's attention. It seemed as though we could never get away from them. Every time I interacted with them something pulled at the back of my mind.

"Naruto, Sakura, we'll meet at the gates in twenty got it?" Kakashi said.

"Hai!"

They all went to their respectful homes to gather supply. This is when I started to wonder, again, why I seemed to remember faintly seeing the Akatsuki cloaks in some of my dreams. Maybe it was from when I fought with Sasori or encountered Itachi Uchiha, but there was still that nagging feeling…

_I bet it's nothing...yeah, nothing… I'm just worrying too much!_

**'I don't think that's the case my dear Sakura. From what I have seen from being stuck in your head there is a strong presence of the Akatsuki in your memory.'**

_I shouldn't worry about my memory right now. Especially when Naruto's life could be in danger...'_

**'Always worrying about others needs but never your own. Same old Sakura, but hey look on the bright side, this might just get exciting.' **She paused for a minute, thinking. **'Oh I know why!'**

_Why?_

**'Because I'm here of course!'**

_Of all the demons in the world, why did I have to get stuck with the conceited one?_ I thought bitterly.

When I finished packing all of my supplies, I walked out of my home, but I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched. I seemed to have this feeling more often...it started when I had dreams of the Akatsuki cloaks.

_Like usual I'm just being paranoid again. I bet it's nothing._

And once again I had no idea just how wrong I was.

**~Ok what do ya think about that for a cliffy...hmm**

**Review please! Idea's are always welcomed;)**


	3. Catching Up

**~This chapter may not have so much action as talking in it...so you will just have to keep reading and reviewing if you want to know where the story is heading :p**

**And this is why my friends tend to think I'm evil hehe**

**Anyways here's chapter 3**

_**Kohona**_

When I got to the gate I was shocked to find Kakashi there...actually earlier than me or Naruto.

_Okay something's up he is NEVER early. Even on missions he's still late. I wonder what he's up to,_ I thought.

**'Man, your such a worrier. You know if you worry to much you're gunna get holes in your stomach' **my demon said.

_Since when did you start to act like my mom? Can't you just shut up and let me find out what the problem is, _I asked irritated.

**'And you're bossy. I'm kind of glad I was locked up Saku...but seriously you have changed a lot'**

And for that reason Kakashi was here early. Ever since he found me in the woods he thought of me as the daughter he could never have. So because he knew practically better than anyone else he could see I was off more than usual. And yes, he also noticed that I had become distant except with a select few.

Kakashi wanted to speak to me in private before Naruto came, I deduced. With me being busy at the hospital and him with missions we had barely anytime to talk one-on-one anymore. So he took his chance.

"Hey there Sakura," Kakashi said as he did his famous one-eyed smile, "I thought we could catch up before we started the mission."

"Oh, of course," I said as I put my arm behind my head (a habit I picked up from Naruto), "What did you want to talk about?"

"You seem to have been more distant with Naruto and me lately...what's wrong? And don't even try to say 'nothing' because you know I know you better than that. So spill," he said eyeing me down.

_Darn it. I thought I had gotten better at hiding my feelings. I guess that's why people are amazed that I'm an ANBU with feelings. That needs to be fixed,_ I thought.

"Fine," I huffed, "You know how sometimes have dreams that might be memories?" he nodded, "Well I have been having dreams about the Akatsuki cloak, and when I think about them it's as if there is something in the back of my mind that tells me that I somehow know them."

Well to say the least Kakashi wasn't expecting this, from the look on his face. He thought I was just feeling down again about Sasuke...not about Akatsuki.

Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder, "Hey look at me," I picked my head up, "everything's going to be alright, nothing is going to happen to you with the Akatsuki as long as I'm breathing, okay?"

"Okay...thanks I needed that. And please don't you hurt yourself trying to protect me. You of all people should know that I am perfectly capable of protecting myself," I said with determination and thankfulness in my eyes.

"Hey I'm just saying-"

"Hey Sakura-chan I'm here! Wait a sec why are you here so early Kakashi?" Naruto said dumbstruck.

"Oh no reason just wanted to catch up with Sakura," Kakashi said with his one-eyed smile.

"Sure you were...Sakura-chan can tell me why later."

"Seriously Naruto he just wanted to talk to me. Can't a father and daughter talk anymore?" I said in a joking manner.

"Since when did he become your dad?" Naruto asked once again, acting as if he didn't know why.

"He raised me, that's why. Now let's get going you two we have some ways to go," I said.

And with that command from me, my boys followed me going out to the Mist where more than one surprise would await us.

**So how did you like it? Suggestions as always welcomed:)**


	4. Sakura's New Power

**~Okay I just had this good idea for the ending of the next chapter and I have to write it down ( There was a time skip so they are now in the Mist...didn't know what to d as they were traveling)**

**Tell me how you like it! **

_**Mist**_

As Naruto, me, and Kakashi approached the Mist, and I got the strangest feeling that someone was still watching me. But it was more extreme this time.

_Okay now this is starting to get out of hand if it is going to mess with my missions. I can't believe I'm asking you, but do you have the faintest idea as to why I keep having this feeling demon? _I thought.

**'Hey don't ask me I'm as stumped on this one as you are. And you better get that confused look off your face Saku, Naruto and Kakashi are going to notice if you don't do it soon' **it said.

And with that I wiped my face of all emotion. I forgot to hide the face expressions because Tsunade told us that we were not to wear our ANBU masks, to avoid suspicion. So of course I forgot that I wasn't hiding under my mask.

Luckily for me the boys didn't notice.

"So where should we start Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"We can cover more ground by splitting up. So Naruto you go north, Sakura you go east, and I will west," Kakashi said and then he handed out the comlinks, "when you findinfromation about the scroll use this to contact me, or vice versa. From what we know it may be located in the east part of the Mist. So Sakura I need you to use your special technique that I taught you."

"Hai," I said with pride in my voice.

"Whoa wait a sec, since when did you teach Sakura-chan a new technique Kakashi? And why didn't I know about it Sakura-chan," Naruto pouted.

"This is hardly the time to be talking about it Nar-" I said.

"Hey, aren't we supposed to know what everyone on their team can do? So if you won't tell me Kakashi will, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto interrupted.

"He does have a point Sakura," Kakashi stated to me, "Okay I will make this quick so we can get started. Sakura has the rare Rinnegan, except her's seems to work a little differently. Besides the powers of the Rinnegan she also has the genjutesu level of the Shaningan in her Rinnegan. So I taught her a technique that she can use to track anything, to track things better than Kiba can."

Naruto's mouth dropped. Kiba was the best tracker in the Leaf, or so he thought. And me of all people was hiding this from him.

"So she's that good with the Rinnegan?" Naruto asked seriously.

"Yes she is, probably because of her perfect chakra control. Anyways by using the Rinnegan she is able to use any of the main elements. By combining certain elements she is able to track anything down including things as small as Shino's bugs."

"Okay I think he knows enough for now Kakashi. Now let's get this over with," I said, then I was enveloped by cherry blossom petals, and then disappeared.

"She's right Naruto. Now go and remember to contact me if you find anything," Kakashi said.

"Hai, sensei," Naruto said then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

My petals led me to a street corner; luckily no one was there to see me and the cherry blossom petals.

_I was hoping to tell him later on. Oh well guess he knows,_ I sighed mentally.

**'Hey! How long did you think you could hide that information from me Saku? I'm really hurt that you didn't share your rare abilities with me'** my demon faked cried.

_Sorry I can't tell you everything you nosy demon. And I'm still learning how to control it...it gives me so much power that I was worried about anyone knowing except for Kakashi and Tsunade._

**'Well don't be a Debby downer, I want to see this Rinnegan in action my dear Saku' **it replied.

_You only act like that because you want to sweet talk yourself out of my body. Well sorry not gunna work...even though it would be the best thing ever if you were gone._

**'Fine be that way. At least use the Rinnegan so we can find the scroll.'**

I activated her Rinnegan. Because it had some of the properties of the Shaningan the color was not grey but a dull red with grey rings around it.

I focused on the scroll and my Rinnegan, using the elements lightning for speed and earth to cover more ground, took me to the sight of a temple...with the scroll inside. I turned on the comlink and told Naruto and Kakashi the coordinates.

_"Geez Sakura-chan that was really fast. You did it in like what 1 minute flat? I need to see what that Rinnegan looks like," _Naruto said giddily through the link.

I laughed mentally. Even when this scroll could mean the end of him from the Akatsuki he still thought more about me than himself.

(Time skip)

When I got to the temple I wasn't surprised by how small it was. It had a reddish roof coloring with grey stone on the rest of the building. And it seemed to be deserted, since I couldn't sense any chakra signatures.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail because I didn't want it to get in the way. My hair had grown mid-back again but was still as beautiful as ever for a ninja, in my opinion.

I thought that I should wait for Naruto and Kakashi to come so I sat down on the temple's steps and waited. And, just to be safe, I activated my Rinnegan if any unwanted visitors came along.

_What's taking them so long; they should be here by now,_ I thought with a hint of worry.

And to make matters worse the feeling of someone watching me intensified. I felt as if someone was burning a hole through my head by staring.

Just as I got into a fighting stance I heard a rustle in the bushes.

_There,_ I thought.

I pounced on to the bush, and whoever was in it, only to find yellow hair with now a big bump on top of his head, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Please don't hurt me Sakura-chan! I wasn't doing anything, I just got here before you attacked me," Naruto pleaded.

I let out a sigh of relief, "Oh it's just you I'm sorry."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that dearest _sister_," a deep voice said from behind me.

**Dun Dun Dunnnn! I love this cliffy **

**You might be able to guess who Sakura's brother is by now...or maybe not;)**

**Read to find out!**


	5. Memories

**~ Okay I just noticed that I haven't put a disclaimer up so first of all...I Do Not Own Naruto In Any Way Shape or Form.**

**Now that I have that out of the way...go to my profile and vote on the poll for who Sakura should end up with or I won't be able to write any more:(**

**Here ya go chapter 5**

_**Mist**_

I turned around along with Naruto to find the people we were half expecting to see. The man that was right behind us, the one who spoke, had spiky orange hair, very tall, and had black piercings all over his face.

_Oh you have got to be KIDINg me! Why is the entire Akatsuki here? _I screamed in my mind.

**'Saku you complain way too much. This is going to be fun!' **my demon said.

_Baka, we have only faced one Akatsuki member, barely survived, and we don't know much about their abilities, except for Itachi and Kisame, _I thought back.

**'Guess that means Sasuke didn't achieve his goal yet' **my demon said smugly.

I looked at Naruto to find him slowly changing into more fox-like features with orange chakra surrounding him. Only to find in a split second Kakashi appear from behind us, with his Shaningan on, glaring at the Akatsuki.

"What the hell did you say?" Naruto shouted at the one with the orange hair.

"I said that my sister shouldn't be so sure it is just you," the orange haired one replied.

_Why did he call me 'sister'? That...just makes no sense, _I thought.

"Sakura, get behind me, now," Kakashi said in a menacing voice.

"No!" the I shouted now getting frustrated, "I am not weak and you know that." I then activated thee Rinnegan.

"Same old kitten, eh Itachi? Except her Rinnegan is different from Leader-sama's," The one by the name of Kisame said.

"Hn," was Itachi's short reply.

_Kitten? Okay now I am furious! _I thought.

'**Calm down girl...I think they know about your pass because your mind is getting the feeling of remembrance again.'**

I thought this out. _Maybe they kidnapped me when I was younger...yeah. But that still doesn't explain why he called me sister._

The look of confusion came across the my features, anger across the Naruto's, and a blank stare from the Kakashi.

I then pulled out my katana, a birthday present from Ino. It was an onxy black color with red and gold wrapped around the handle. On the katana were words carved in that covered the katana, making the katana a thing of beauty but with an eerie feel to them.

"Oh and she also started to use a katana too, I was wondering when she would start to remember what I taught her years ago," Kisame said, as if he actually knew me.

"What are you talking about," I asked, while Naruto stood next to me protectively, growling very low.

"Sakura now's not the time for curiou-" Kakashi started to say.

"Oh, I think it is the perfect time for questions and answers," the leader, the orange haired one seemed to be, said in a deep voice, "those Elders of yours have tampered with my little sister's memory. She has a right to know where she truly belongs."

As he said this he did some hand signs, causing something to suddenly break within my mind, like a seal being torn open. Then I started to get my memories back in a flurry of bright images.

_(Flashback)_

_Pein was holding a happy 3 year old Sakura on his shoulders. These were the times that he wishes he could freeze in place._

_"Brother! Where are Sasori and Kisame I want to play with them!" the young girl screamed in his ear._

_He chuckled and said, "Back at base, where we are heading. Don't worry Sakura we will see them soon."_

_The only time he ever acted human was around his sister, and everyone knew it._

_(2nd Flashback)_

_"Tobi is a good boy! Isn't he Blossom?" Tobi said from underneath his mask to the 5 year old Sakura walking past him._

_"Yes Tobi is!"_

_"Get back hear you assho-, oh sorry Sakura, move aside so I can knock this knuckle head into oblivion!" Deidara, a man with long blond hair and blue eyes, told her._

_"Save me Blossom! Please Tobi didn't do anything wrong."_

_"Are you kidding me you stabbed me with a kunai and ran off screaming!" an irate Deidara yelled._

_"Please Uncle Dei don't hurt Tobi," a teary Sakura said._

_She was about to say more when strong arms picked her up in a swift motion. The pinkette looked up to see Itachi holding her with his eyes a blood red._

_"Stop fighting in front of her, unless you want Pein to have your heads," Itachi said calmly with killing intent in his eyes._

_"Damn Uchiha," Deidara said with some colorful strings of curses following as he walked off back to his room. Tobi was already gone in a puff of smoke._

_"Thank you Itachi, I really don't like it when my family fights," Sakura said._

_Itachi squeezed her, "Don't mention it." He only spoke that much words to Sakura._

_(3rd Flashback)_

_Explosions came from all directions around Sakura. She was 7 years old and she was screaming for her brother, anyone._

_She was skilled enough to dodge the incoming weapons thrown at her, save for the couple that just impaled her leg._

_She screamed out in pain, "HELP!"_

_"Pinky is that you!" Kisame, she thinks, shouted._

_"Yes help me ple-"_

_"Shut up you little brat," the Sound ninja said from behind her, only to collapse when a puppet attacked him from behind._

_"Come on we need to find your brother," Kisame yelled at her while Itachi picked her up noticing that she was barely able to walk._

_"Let's go, now," Itachi said with a hint of urgency in his voice, something he never had._

_"Wh-whats going on Tachi?" Sakura asked, her voice laced with worry for her family and brother._

_"We have been attacked by some very skilled Sound ninjas Kitten, probably after you and your brother. That snake bastard, once I get my hands on him-" Kisame said._

_"Enough," Itachi said._

_As they ran down the mazes of hallways they ran into her brother who just got done killing a couple of ninja._

_"Sakura, good your safe," Pein said with relief._

_"I'm scared brother what are we going to do," she asked timidly._

_"Itachi and Kisame are going to take you to the Leaf. A certain person is after your abilities, since they are stronger than my own, so you are no longer safe with us."_

_He looks at Itachi and Kisame, "You will take her to the Leaf and make sure she gets found by a silver-haired man by the name of Kakashi Hatake."_

_He then kissed Sakura on the forehead, "I will come back for you when it is safe. Don't worry you will be okay with Hatake. He is a kind man, especially when it comes to young children."_

_"Okay brother," she said as she cried, "I love you."_

_"As do I, now you three need to go. Itachi, Kisame you know where to meet me when you make sure that she is safe."_

_They nodded and headed out. That was the last time she saw her brother._

_"Hang on," Itachi said. Then they moved out._

_(End of Flashbacks)_

**'Holy Kami, did you see that Saku, never knew that my vessel had a past with the Akatsuki'**

_Shut up now, _I growled at her Inner demon.

All I knew was that my boys would not be happy when I tell them.

_Well at least I know who my family is,_ I thought bitterly.

**~What cha think? This is my longest chapter...oh and sorry for not really sticking to the whole Rinnegan traits. Thats why they call it Fanfiction:)**

**Review and tell me what you think.**


	6. The Deal

**~Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way...okay now this chapter is going to have some mixed point of views. Oh and Sakura will be in first person for this chapter.**

**Hope you like it.**

_**Mist**_

(Pein POV)

As I took off the seal I observed how much my younger sister has grown. Her hair was mid-back, still pink I thought with a smirk. Her Rinnegan was not like mine, that much I knew, as I saw her ringed reddish eyes. She was still short though that didn't surprise me that much, our mother had been short.

I could tell that leaving her with Kakashi was the right thing to do. Although those damn Elders will pay for erasing my little sister's memory so that they may use her as a tool for them. Oh yes he and the rest of the Akatsuki would make sure of it.

I was pained to see her remember the day that Orochimaru attacked base. That snake bastard was intent on getting my precious blossom for is body transfer jutsu.

I guess I have to thank Itachi's little brother for killing that snake.

(Kakashi POV)

Pein seemed to have taken some sort of seal off her, when the hell did she get a seal put on her?

My little girl showed happiness and then pain on her face. I know those release hand signs...there for memory locks. I have always wondered who left her in those woods when I found her. She was a very odd sight for me that's for sure.

I still remember that day clearly. I was coming back from a mission when I came across a little pink haired girl in the middle of the woods. I took her and asked her where her parents were. She said her home was attacked so I took her to the Elders, I thought they would help.

Guess they wiped her memory as Pein said. I really hope Naruto doesn't overact to much.

(Sakura POV)

I looked at my brother who looked passive as ever but his eyes gave him away. He looked relived yet angered at the same time. Those memories were just too much, my entire first seven years of life flashed by in my mind. I'm utterly screwed.

**'Yes, yes you are. This is just something I didn't expect. I wonder how this is going to play out.'**

_Oh will you shut up and let me think demon, _I thought.

"Sakura-chan are you okay?" Naruto asked, still in his fox form seething.

"Yes," I said with a clear voice, very proud of myself for not faltering.

"Good now let's kick some Akatsuki ass!" Naruto said getting in an attack position.

"No! Just...just wait a second Naruto you don't know who you're dealing with," I said fearing for his safety.

"What do mean NO! This guy comes around, claims your his sister, and you act as if you know them. You're not thinking straight Sakura-chan," he yelled at me.

"Kakashi I think you have figured it out by now, tell him," I told my father figure.

Kakashi sighed, "It is true Naruto, Sakura is his sister. The Elders wiped away her memory of them, for unknown reasons."

"Wrong Hatake," Pein said with no emotion what so ever, "Those foolish Elders of yours are trying to use my sister as a weapon for your village. And now that Orochimaru is gone, courtesy of Sasuke Uchiha, I have come back for my sister."

"So the rumors are true, he really did kill him," Kakashi said with little interest, "but you're not taking Sakura."

_So that was who attacked base. But what am I going to do? Inner you can come in and give me your wonderful advice anytime soon, _I thought.

**'Well you have a decision to make now don't you...your boys or your family. If I was out there right now I would go with the Akatsuki.'**

_And why would I go with them?_

**'I know you care about Naruto. It's simple they want him for the nine-tails and your dearest brother wants you back for obvious reasons. So make a deal they stop hunting Naruto for a period of time and you go with your family.'**

_Naruto and Kakashi would stop me though and I don't want any bloodshed, _I thought.

**'Since I want to learn more about this lovely crime organization you keep talking and let me handle those two.'**

_And how do you plan on doing that? _It didn't answer.

Seriously this is Naruto and Kakashi, the ones always keeping me out of harm's way. I guess I have no choice but to trust it if I want those two to live.

"Come on kitten let's get a move on," Kisame urged her, while giving me a toothy grin.

"Stay away from her!" Naruto shouted, his own teeth getting pointer.

"Wait! Naruto, Kakashi let me handle this. They are still my family after all," I said morosely.

"What do you mean we ar-" Naruto was saying till I stopped him.

"Shut it now," I said in a dangerously low voice then I turned to Pein, "I want to make a deal."

I saw Kakashi take a step closer to get behind me, "Sakura you don't know what you're doing. Don't try to make a deal with him, please," he pleaded.

This was going to be the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I knew I could knock them out with one look at them with the Rinnegan. So that's what I did, along with my demons help.

I turned around, Rinnegan still activated, "You two both know that I love you...I'm so sorry," I said with tears in my eyes as I knocked them out with those last words in their heads, I hope. I wiped away the tears and turned to my brother.

"I want to make a deal," I proposed as sadness still tinged inside of me, "I know you guys are after Naruto, and I also know that you all somehow care for me. So will you not go after Naruto for at least six years if I come with you and stay?"

My brother looked at me with a blank stare, but I remembered that I had always been able to read his eyes better than anyone even in their Rinnegan form. He was in deep thought I picked out, and I knew he wanted me home more than anything, I just wasn't sure if he would give up hunting Naruto for me though.

"Yes that can be arranged sister," Pein said then turning to the rest of the Akatsuki, "You all have your orders now go."

I watched as my family left in a blur, and then I went into my pocket on my right hip, looking for some paper and pencil. I should leave them something to remember me by.

Pein came behind me and put his large hand on my skinny shoulder, "What are you doing?"

"Informing them of our deal, Pein. I promise it won't take long."

He nodded in approval then went to a nearby tree and kept a close eye on our surroundings. Then I started to write.

_Dear Naruto and Kakashi,_

_I will be gone by the time you read this. I have made a deal with my brother that he and his group will not hunt you for six years as long as I stay with them. Please Naruto don't be angry at me and come after me, I care for you to much. And Kakashi don't go and do anything stupid either._

_I love you both so this is why I am doing this. Thank you for everything._

_-Sakura_

I felt a tear fall from my eye and then saw it fall onto the paper. I had this nagging feeling that I would enjoy my new home with my old family, though I was pained to leave my new family.

_They will understand...at least I think Kakashi might._

**'Hope your right Saku.'**

My demon's comment made me feel a little more down as I turned around to face my brother.

_This is it, _I grimaced taking Pein's hand and jumping into the forest off to my new home.

**~So how was it? Reviews as always are very welcomed.**


	7. Reactions

**~People that read this I ask you a favor...go on my poll and vote for who you want Sakura's love interest to be and if the choice you want is not there review it!**

**Okay now that is out of the way on with the disclaimer and story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...tear tear**

**Now the story!**

_**On the way to Akatsuki Base**_

I held my brother's hand as we trailed behind the Akatsuki. I still couldn't believe I joined them and left Naruto and Kakashi behind. It just happened all too fast and I wanted to be with my brother. I will not lose my family again.

I looked over at Pein. Still as stoic as I remember, I thought with a smile. And of course this didn't go unnoticed by my brother.

"Sakura what are you smiling about? Last time you did that Hidan's head went missing and Kisame's clothing was bedazzled and pink. I suggest you don't anger them, even if they do care for you they will not hesitate to retaliate," he said in a serious tone but his eyes betrayed him.

And there is that humor in his eyes. He so enjoyed that.

I looked at him while putting a strand of pink hair behind my ear, "No it's not that. You're just still good at being stoic, seems like nothing has changed though so much has."

He looked at me with concerned filled eyes. His Rinnegan, that he _never_ turned off always stuck people with fear, but never me.

"I will make sure that things are the way they are supposed to be. You will never be hurt again as long as I'm alive," he said with some emotion escaping his voice.

I stopped running and turned to look at him full on; in turn he stopped and did the same.

"Just don't die on me alright?" I asked with pain laced on the edge of my words.

In a split second I was in his arms and he was holding me tight, reassuring me.

"We will never get split up again, I promise."

And with that we held each other's hands and ran home.

_**Mist**_

Kakashi was the first to wake up on high alert when he noticed that no one was there.

_How could I have let them take her, _he thought,_ this is really bad not only is Naruto going to kill me, Tsunade will too._ He sighed then a sad expression crossed his face as Naruto slowly got up.

He rubbed his head and said, "What the hell happened and where is Sakura-chan?" his voice rising a little.

Kakashi looked around to notice a note with cherry blossom petals scattered around it, so he picked it up motioned for Naruto to come over and started to read.

_Dear Naruto and Kakashi,_

_I will be gone by the time you read this. I have made a deal with my brother that he and his group will not hunt you for six years as long as I stay with them. Please Naruto don't be angry at me and come after me, I care for you to much. And Kakashi don't go and do anything stupid either._

_I love you both so this is why I am doing this. Thank you for everything._

_-Sakura_

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as a small tear slid down his mask, while Naruto on the other hand looked about ready to burst.

"Why does she sacrifice everything for us? Why? I can't lose someone else...first Sasuke and now her," Naruto screamed.

Kakashi abruptly turned towards him, "Calm down. Do think this is what Sakura wanted, for you to go raving and then run off to find her when she told you to not come after her? This hurts me too Naruto and she did not do it only for you, but for herself."

Naruto looked at him, eyes and teeth still sharpened, and sighed in defeat. He knew that he couldn't do anything until they told Tsunade. And that gave him a thought.

"Sensei, what is Tsunade going to do?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through is hair, "I don't know. But I know that she will probably send the rookie 9 and more ANBU squads after her, if she thinks of Sakura as her daughter, which I know that she does."

Naruto clenched his fist and shouted into the air, letting all his anger out knowing that he couldn't do anything for the time being.

_**Akatsuki Base**_

Pein and I just arrived back at base. It was protected by a series of complicated jutsus and it was near Ame. _No surprise there, Pein and I have always loved the rain, _I thought.

**'So this is the infamous Akatsuki base. I expected better' **the demon laughed.

_Hey looks are deceiving. Now shut up or I will send you into the brightest part of my mind._

**'Hey, hey no need to go there, I creature of darkness like myself has no need for anything bright in your horrid head'** Inner said with a shiver.

_Good,_ I simply thought.

Pein lead me through the maze of hallways, which were dark of course. We passed a place that looked like a living room with a couch, some chairs, and a table. The kitchen we passed was also simple and plain. My brother started to lead me to the far end of the base where all the rooms were.

I saw Itachi, Kisame (_need to remember where his is_, I thought evilly), and Zetzu's rooms when we finally reached Pein's and my room which were right next to each other. Our doors had our names written on them I noticed, like all of the other member's doors.

"There is a connecting way through the closet. Tell me what you think," he smirked then ducked away into his room.

So I faced my door and twisted the knob to a very pleasant sight for me. My room was red with pink, black, and white bedding. Cherry blossoms were painted pink on the walls, as well as the cherry blossoms on the bed. It was a very beautiful room in my opinion. Plus the bed was huge, and soft!

I jumped down on it and fell into a deep sleep from a long day.

_**Kohona**_

A figure was approaching the Leaf village, fast, as if his life depended on it though no one was chasing him.

At amazing speeds he hopped through the trees with no intent on fighting anyone. His red-blood eyes scanned the area to make sure everything was clear before he went over the wall.

Noticing the ANBU that were now on his tail he went even faster towards the Hokage Tower.

He went through the window to find a drunk, but still attentive, Tsunade staring at him with wide eyes.

His spiky black hair and red eyes gave him away so he dropped all his weapons as a form of surrender. Then he looked back up.

"So look who has finally come crawling back home," Tsunade seethed. Not knowing that even more bad news was yet to come.

**~Hehe cliffy:) tell me what you thought!**


	8. Unexpected Returns

_**Akatsuki Base**_

I awoke to find my hair sprawled around me, just a big pink mess. I groaned as I untangled my hair and looked around my room again, still trying to take everything in from yesterday's events. So I started to make a mental list in my head.

1. I remembered my past and found out I had a brother.

2. This brother happened to be the leader of the Akatsuki

3. I am now living with Pein and the Akatsuki, my family, and left my family in the Leaf.

_Kami, my life is screwed up. And that's only the things I can think of at this moment, _I thought.

**'Hey there is a bright side to all of this' **my demon inquired.

_Besides getting my brother back what bright side is there?_

**'We'll be with S-classed criminals means that you will probably learn a whole lot of new jutsu's and fighting techniques of theirs. And hey who knows, living in a place full of hot guys can have its perks' **my demon said with a slight evil tinge to her voice.

_First of all yes I would like to learn half of the stuff they know at least. And secondly...what the hell is your problem! These guys are like brothers, just not by blood. Plus they probably think of me as a little sister, _I shouted mentally to her as I pushed her far into the back of my mind.

When I was done untangling my hair I went to the bathroom to take a much needed shower. I have always loved the feeling of a shower because it felt like rain, something that I love.

Before I stepped in the shower I took a look at myself in the mirror. My pink hair had gotten lighter since I have been outside more, but my skin was still pale. My emerald eyes started back at me with no emotion, and I started to remember someone.

Someone with the same emotionless eyes that I had at the moment. Sasori. Then I remembered, with regret now, that I had killed him.

_This is going be a problem, _I thought_. _

_**On the way to Kohona**_

Naruto and Kakashi were going nonstop towards their home at a fast moving pace. Kakashi wanted to tell the Hokage that Sakura left before they did anything rash. After leaving Mist temple, not before Naruto destroyed the site out of anger, they rushed out with the scroll. The scroll was the last thing on any of their minds, but they still had to complete their mission.

Sakura. That was all that was on Kakashi's and definitely on Naruto's mind. Why? Why, was their main question. Why did she leave them? Why was she going back with a crime organization, just for her brother? Kakashi thought that it was only to protect Naruto...now he wasn't so sure.

Being the one who raised her since the age of seven he knew _almost_ everything about her. He knew that she wanted to know who her family was and why she was left alone. What he didn't know is that she had ties with the Akatsuki she didn't even know about, and that Orochimaru had been after her. But then why take Sasuke?

His thoughts were then interrupted by the blond, "Kakashi-sensei...do you think that Sakura-chan is all right?"

Kakashi could sense the pain in his voice so he answered gently, "Yes I do. Her brother was protective enough of her to send her to a village he hated and the other members seemed to miss her. They won't hurt her," then he did his famous eye squint, "and don't worry we'll get her back soon."

Naruto looked straight at him with the most serious look on his face, "But what if she doesn't want to come back?"

And that just gave Kakashi even more to think about.

_**Akatsuki Base**_

When I got out of the shower, my mind still on Sasori, I looked went to the closet hoping that Pein didn't pick too baggy clothing. I was very happy to find my type of style in the closet. So I decided to put on a fishnet tee with a red tank over it with simple black leggings that went down to my knees. Then I pulled my long hair up and knocked on the doorway that connected Pein and my room together.

"Yes?" Pein asked.

"Hey I was wondering if you could help me through this maze you call a base, and show me where the kitchen is again," I said with humor laced around my voice.

Pein opened the door and smiled down at me, ruffling my hair he said, "Of course, sister."

"I'm going to have to get used to that," I said with a little shiver, "the person that my friends just happen to hate is my brother. N-not that it's a bad thing," I stuttered while putting a hand behind my back, "I'm really glad to finally be with you again."

Pein chuckled a bit and pulled his hand back, "Sakura I'm glad to be with you too, and not just watching you from a distance as I have been for the past 11 years. Let's go to the kitchen and eat."

And with that we started down the hall when a question popped up in my head.

"Hey Pein umm...is Deidara or anyone for that matter, angry with me for killing Sasori? I mean I remember how nice he was to me, now I feel horrible for killing him. He did try to kill me though so what's up with that?" I asked my voice a little shaky.

Pein stopped then looked at me, "No one is angry with you and I have spoken to Sasori about that and he says he was never going to kill you. He was just playing the role till you got your memory back. But I still punished him."

Wait he talked to Sasori? I started to put the hints together as we walked towards the kitchen, which only proved that my theory was correct. There was Sasori with his bright red hair, sitting at the table eating.

He looked up at my somewhat shocked face and spoke, "Well if it isn't Sakura, our little blossom has finally got her memory back."

"And I see that you're not dead...and not a puppet anymore," I said as I noticed his chest go up and down and flesh instead of wood like skin. Well I was not expecting this to say the least.

_**Kohona**_

"Why are you here Uchiha?" Tsunade practically growled at him.

"I killed Orochimaru now that I'm strong enough to kill Itachi. Where are Naruto and Sakura I must speak with them," the young Uchiha said in a calm voice.

"That is none of your business. Now why are you here?" she yelled this time.

"I want to speak to those two first, now where are they?" Sasuke said with an equally dangerous tone, though not as loud.

Just then the door burst open to reveal Naruto and Kakashi. To say they were surprised would be an understatement. Kakashi's eyes widened and Naruto just had an absolute look of shock on his face.

But Tsunade noticed that someone was missing.

"Where is Sakura?" The Hokage asked with a tone not very happy.

Kakashi was the first to snap out of it but not before asking, "Sasuke what are you doing here?"

"Kakashi where is Sakura?" Tsunade asked now getting impatient.

"With her brother...leader of the Akatsuki."

Then all hell seemed to break loose.

**~So what do you guys think? Oh and Itachi is winning so far for the coupling...just thought I would ley you know. **

**Reviews are always welcomed**


	9. Changes

_**Kohona**_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S WITH THE AKATSUKI?" Tsunade yelled. Her face was a scrunched up and she looked like she was about to smash a mountain. Sasuke just had a look of pure shock on his face that turned to anger very quickly.

"You two mean to tell me that Sakura's brother is the Akatsuki leader and she is now with my brother?" Sasuke seethed while his hands balled up into fists.

Kakashi sighed as Sasuke punched a hole through the wall. How was he supposed to explain to the two of them that Sakura already lived with the Akatsuki before the elders erased her memory?

"What the hell is your problem Sasuke! You come back and we tell you that our teammate is with a _crime _organization and you still care about your brother!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke.

"Don't act like you're the only one that cares! Why do you think I came back? I care about you two. I only went with Orochimaru so that I could be stronger to protect you two, my family! So don't you _dare _think that I don't care about her," Sasuke grounded out.

"Will two stop fighting! Kakashi what the hell is going on?" Tsunade once again yelled.

Kakashi looked down at his feet and began, "Long story short, Sakura lived with the Akatsuki before she came to the Leaf. Their base was attacked by Orochimaru so Pein made sure that I found her in the woods, so she could be safe. The Elders knew who she was and erased her memory in hopes that they could use her as a weapon. Now she left with them so she could protect Naruto and so she could be with her family."

Kakashi finished there and then gave Tsunade the letter Sakura wrote. Sasuke and Tsunade had looks of anger mixed with shock on their faces. Then when Tsunade read the letter a look of understanding came across her face.

"Of course she left with them," she sighed, "she has always wondered who her family was. Going with them meant that she could have her family and protect Naruto at the same time. At least this explains the Rinnegan she has."

Sasuke stilled looked as mad as ever but his voice didn't betray him, "What do you mean she has the Rinnegan?"

"Oh now that she has something that could beat your bloodline you're interested in her, teme? I don't know about you guys but I'm going after her," Naruto said with remorse and anger tinged to his voice. He was about to storm out of there, but Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, she did this not only to be with her brother, but for you too. Going there would just make everything she has done for nothing. I know you will respect her decision," then he did his one-eyed crinkle, "And who knows maybe Sakura can make them better and even allied with Kohona."

Tsunade put her hands together and said, "If anyone can change those men it would be Sakura," then she looked directly at Naruto and Sasuke, "I'm going to go along with Sakura for now. So you two, and the rest of the Rookie 9, are forbidden to go after her. That is final."

She then looked at Naruto, "Naruto you have a new mission, while I decide what to do with Uchiha you will watch over him 24 seven. Got it?"

_**Akatsuki Base**_

I had a very strange urge to go and hug Sasori, but I kept my ground next to my brother.

"How are you alive? I thought I killed you," I said, noticing that my voice didn't waver.

"Oh you did kill me. But Leader-sama revived me. Though I think he only did it so that he could kick my ass," Sasori said with no emotion, no surprise there.

Pein gave him a glare that could kill, "Well what did you expect me to do? You almost killed my sister."

"And I told you that I didn't mean too, I simply was playing the part because my grandmother was there. If she hadn't been there I would have taken Sakura with me," Sasori said getting up from his chair.

"Those two have been at it forever, un."

As soon as I heard the 'un' I didn't need to look behind me to see that Deidara was heading towards us. To get away from the tension I walked with Deidara to the counter to make us some breakfast.

"So this has been constant then? I'm not dead and when I fought Sasori I knew he was holding back, so why keep going at it?" I asked.

Deidara looked at me and smiled, "I don't know, un. You always seemed to know everyone better than anyone, even at five years old. Even that block of ice warmed up to you, un."

Slap!

I looked behind us to see Itachi slap Deidara again. _How come I didn't sense him coming? _I thought.

**'Well let's think for a moment shall we? Uchiha here is S-classed, killed his entire clan in one night, and need I say anymore. I swear you can be so dense even denser than your idiot friend,' **my demon replied.

_Oh shut up. I was just surprised was all._

As I fought my demon I looked around to see that Pein and Sasori stopped fighting and were looking at me, same with Deidara and Itachi. Why are they looking at me?

"Hey Saku...why was your face changing emotions a lot. You never did that when you were younger," Deidara said with a look of confusion.

Just then Pein growled and left the kitchen to who knows where. I fiddled with my long hair a bit and looked down hoping that my brother would be a good distraction for me to leave with my toast that just popped out. But of course Kami just hates me.

Itachi grabbed my shoulder and became serious, "That was not normal. Why was your brother angry about something as little as face emotions changing?"

"Um you mean you guys weren't the ones who sealed the demon inside of me? I thought...oh crap," as I said this I started to remember being in a room on top of a seal. And Danzo was looking down at me.

Itachi took one look at me and he knew. _Of course he knew, the Elders had screwed with him too I bet._

"Hey, un, what do you mean demon? Liked a tailed beast or something," Deidara asked.

I put my hand behind my neck and said in a mumble, "Oh no just a lesser demon, nothing that important."

While the three of them absorbed the information I took my chance and made a dash for it, only to be attacked as soon as I got into the hallway.

"Yeah! Tobi found blossom," the masked Akatsuki cheered.

"Tobi get off I need to get to my-," I looked up to see Sasori and Itachi standing in the entrance to the kitchen looking at me and Tobi, "never mind. They found me."

I didn't get it but Itachi and Sasori were giving Tobi a glare that could kill.

_What's the problem? Tobi is only hugging me._

**'Maybe they're jealous...or they just don't like lollipop face'**

_Hey, be nice. _

I got snapped out of my thoughts when I was suddenly jerked up and Tobi started to whine.

"Sasori! Why did you take Blossom away from Tobi? Tobi was just hugging her," he whined.

I looked up Sasori who now had his arms around me, "Because, you idiot, I don't like you."

I wiggled out of Sasori's arms only to once again have Itachi's strong hand on my shoulder, keeping me from getting the hell out of there.

"Guys, seriously, its fine. He was just hugging me," I said my voice not betraying that I was angry inside.

"Things have changed, Sakura," was all Itachi said before he let me go and punched Tobi down the hall.

_Seems like they have. You guys were never this mean to Tobi. I wonder what he did..._

_**Kohona**_

"Teme, let's go," Naruto said as he dragged Sasuke out of the Hokage's office.

Naruto slammed the door, all his bottled up anger coming back to him now that Sasuke was here. Him and Sakura searched for years for him. Now for him to come up out of know where and say that he left to become stronger for them, was pushing Naruto over the limit. And now he had to watch the bastard.

"What the hell is you problem, dobe," Sasuke said tearing himself away from Naruto's grip.

"You are," Naruto seethed," all these years we looked for you. Sakura had it the worst of all. She loved you! And because of that she gave up on you. We both thought you would never come back willingly so we stopped searching and went on with out lives. Now that she has left and your back just makes it all worse!"

Sasuke stared Naruto straight in the eye and said, "I know that I have caused you both pain. But can we just pick up where we left off, after we get Sakura back?"

"Believe me we won't even get near the gates with Tsunade's order to not go after her. When ever I went after you she would beat me up and put me in the hospital then put me on mission's."

"Well then what are we supposed to do?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a hint of evil in his eye, "Let's see what the gang think about you being back."

And with that Naruto dragged Sasuke out of the Hokage building and off to find the Rookie 9 and Team Gai.

**~Sorry I haven't updated in a while but please review! They make my day:)**

**And so far Itachi is winning for love interest. Still time to vote in reviews or on the poll!**


	10. Mission

_**Akatsuki Base**_

I have been with the Akatsuki for over a week now and from what I have collected not a lot has changed as Itachi had said. The only thing was that Itachi and Sasori were the only ones that were mean to Tobi and I still don't know why.

**Well maybe something happened while you were gone all these years. Ever think about that Saku?**

_Oh please just shut up and go find a corner._

And with that my demon left me to my thoughts. Everyone was still protective of me, especially my brother who didn't seem to like Tobi either. When he saw her talking to him yesterday he growled at Tobi and took her away from him with no explanation.

I am going to get to the bottom of this.

There was a knock on my door, so I pulled myself from my thought and went to door. I opened it to find my least favorite person of the Akatsuki, Hidan.

"Hey Blossom bitch, your brother wants you," Hidan said with a little smirk.

"I swear if there is one person I want to kill more than anyone in this world it is you," I grinded out.

The reason for my hatred of the silver haired Akatsuki was mostly because he had no respect for me what so ever and he called me _annoying _two days ago. And that day ended up with me very pissed off and a hole in the side of the house with Hidan's head across the room. That made Kisame laugh till he was on the floor.

"Fuck you bitch. Now go I don't want Leader-sama to bite my head off."

With that he tossed me down the hall towards my brother's office. I swore under my breath and headed towards the door of the said office. It was a tall dark wood door with an equally dark room inside, lit only by candles. Another discovery was that my brother could be really scary when he wanted to be, but he didn't scare me.

I stepped into the room to find my brother sitting at his desk holding an air of authority with a serious face. But I could see through his eyes that he was happy to see me. On the right side of his desk was Konan, who smiled down at me. And then to the left was Itachi and Kisame.

"Sakura glad to see you made it here unscathed by Hidan," Pein stated in a clam tone.

I put a hand to my neck, reminding me of Naruto, "Well he did toss me down the hall which means he is going to get his ass kicked later."

Kisame chuckled at this with Konan, and Itachi just smirked a little.

"Down to business now, sister this was a hard decision for me but I think it would be good for you to get out of the base for a while. And seeing that you still have the same ties you did back then with Itachi and Kisame, I will be sending you on a mission with them."

I nodded knowing that he was right. During my time here I have gotten close to those two, along with Deidara and Sasori, even though he almost killed me.

"You, Kisame, and Itachi are to go to the Land of Snow and kill Ichio Kiguren. He seems to know more than he should about the Akatsuki, which means he could leak information. You mission is to kill him quickly and to not be seen. That is all," Pein finished then he looked at me

"Sakura be careful. I know you are more than capable of an assassination but don't get hurt," I could hear the concern in is voice but then it turned menacing as he turned to look at Itachi and Kisame, "And if I found out that you let her get hurt or hurt her you can expect to not live very long."

And on that note I gave my brother, Konan, and the boys a smile then went to pack.

_**Kohona**_

Sasuke and Naruto were currently walking over to a Sakura tree, where Team Gai and Shikamaru, and Sai stood. Ever since Sasuke left Naruto and the rest of them had always met there after their missions were complete and just Sasuke's luck that not everyone was there.

The looks he got from two certain males, Neji and Shikamaru, were close to daggers. Naruto knew that those two would be really angry about Sakura being gone. Neji and Shikamaru had gotten closer to Sakura over the years and were very protective of her.

"Hey dickless why is the Uchiha here and not trying to kill us," Sai said adoring his fake smile.

"Nice to see you too," Naruto said as he slapped Sai over the head, "Well he is here because according to him he always cared for me and Sakura, so he was faking," then Naruto pointed a finger at Sasuke, "And I don't believe that for one second."

"Where is Sakura? Wasn't she on a mission with you and Kakashi?" Shikamaru piped up.

Naruto's face instantly became void of all emotion except sadness.

"Long story short, she found out that her family is the Akatsuki, her actual brother is the leader, and she left with them so she could protect me and be with her brother."

Everyone's faces ranged from upset to outraged. Neji was fuming along with Lee. Tenten and Shikamaru just had looks of shock on their faces. And Sai seemed to be confused with a new emotion, concern for his friend.

Shikamaru was composing himself as he said in a somewhat steady voice, "Well it isn't too surprising to see that Sakura has ties with the Akatsuki. She knew all their weaknesses, and having the extremely rare Rinnegan, the same as the leader of the Akatsuki, and she always told me that she felt like they were more than just enemies. I guess she was right...were going after her right?"

"No, we can't," Naruto said in a grave voice, "read this and it should explain why we can't go after her."

Naruto handed Shikamaru the letter Sakura had written to him. Neji, Sai, Lee, and Tenten were peering over his shoulders to also read. Tenten started to silently cry, and Neji consoled her. Lee, Shika, and Sai just stood there dumbfounded.

"So the hag made a deal with her brother and now they can't hunt you for six years," Sai said to himself, "Not surprising seeing as that you are her best friend. But what are we going to do with the Uchiha over here?" Sai questioned as they all looked towards Sasuke.

_**Outside of Akatsuki Base**_

I was waiting outside the base for Itachi and Kisame with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. This mission didn't seem hard; she had been on plenty like this before as an ANBU, but something about Pein's words just made her uneasy.

_At least I'll have Itachi and Kisame with me._

**Yep. Fishy and the Ice Cube. What fun...you know I don't know why you are actually friends with those idiots. Now that I think about all your friends are idiots. Especially that Kubbi Naruto and-**

"Shut up!" I screamed not being able to take it anymore. And of course that's when my two partners decided to show up.

"Hey Pinky...are you ok," Kisame asked concern in his voice. I then looked at the normally stoic Uchiha, but even I could see that he was worried on some level.

"Yeah...just having a fight with _her_," I seethed, pointing to my back where the seal to keep the demon in was put.

Kisame ruffled my hair and spoke in a joking manner, "Don't pay any attention to her. Just talk to us if you need to talk, kay?"

I smiled, stood and looked up at him, "Yeah okay."

"We should get going now," Itachi stated.

"Let's go," I said.

We then headed off into the forest heading to Snow. My two friends with me, Itachi on the right and Kisame on the left.

And then that feeling started to creep back up.

Sasuke looked at all the people staring at him with disgust. Naruto just knew he was going to get a beat down from Shika and Neji. But he didn't know what Sai would do to him.

"Hey, I never meant to leave," Sasuke said in a clear voice, "I only left for Naruto and Sakura. And why the hell did you just call her 'hag'," Sasuke said his voice getting a little deeper.

"Don't get angry at him Uchiha, he just has never been good with nicknames," Neji grounded out at him, "And you have no place to say that you care about those two when all you have done is cause them pain. Sakura got into ANBU to get you back, yet you still didn't come back. You tried to kill her and Naruto a while back, didn't you."

"Look I had to do that so that Orochimaru wouldn't get suspicious. I had to get him on my side so that I could learn how to control the curse mark and kill him."

"I have had just about enough of your lies Uchiha. You can't imagine all the hurt you caused Sakura. Not only didn't she have any memory but someone that she loved left her and tried to kill her. She became an empty shell after you turned on us. I'm surprised that she doesn't hate you," Neji said in a menacing voice, eyes penetrating Sasuke.

Naruto watched the exchange with sad eyes, not knowing what to do. All he wanted was Sakura back, then maybe Team 7 could be back together. That is all Naruto has ever wanted, more than becoming Hokage. But Sasuke's betrayal ran deep with Naruto, and he was still trying to figure out how to forgive him for everything that he had done.

Itachi and I were setting up camp while Kisame went too look for some firewood. We had already set up the three tents so all we had to do was wait for Kisame to come back. So I sat down, Itachi following my actions and sitting next to me.

Itachi didn't talk to much, but his company was good enough for me. Then a thought came to mind, Tobi. I stilled wanted to know what happened while I was gone to make Sasori, Pein, and him hate Tobi so much.

"Itachi, I have a question...why do you hate Tobi so much, what happened while I was gone?" I noticed that my voice didn't betray the nervous feeling that I had inside.

Itachi immediately tensed up next to me at my question, and then he looked at me with that serious look in his dark eyes.

"I want you to stay away from him. He is not the childish person you remember. You would not only do me a favor by staying away from him, but also Sasori and your brother."

I looked Itachi straight in the eye and said, "You didn't answer my question."

"Hn," was his simple answer.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way sadly *pout***

**Yeah another chapter done! Oh and all the reviews, poll stuff, and messages have been added up to who Sakura's love interest is going to be...but is's gunna be a surprise...please don't hate me!**

**Oh and Review! You know you want to ;)**


	11. Pain

_**Snow Country**_

Kisame came back with his arms full of firewood, but of course he had a smirk on his face.

"So are you two cozy?" Kisame remarked.

I looked over to my side and Itachi just glared and Kisame. I felt heat rush up to my cheeks and I started to fiddle with my hair, knowing what would come next.

"You may be older than me, yet you still don't get the concept of friends," Itachi remarked, nothing showing on his face except smugness.

"Hey I remember when you first came to the organization at 13 you and Sakura hit it right off, and you became all protective of her. Still are if you ask me," Kisame said.

With that Kisame made the fire, Itachi went to his tent, and I was confused of course. Itachi just stormed off for no reason what so ever. From my memories I could tell that I have always been close with Itachi ever since the first day he came.

_No wonder I liked Sasuke. Those two are so much alike except Itachi actually has a heart, _I thought.

I got up from the ground to move closer to the fire, and sat next to Kisame. I wrapped myself up in my Akatsuki cloak and stared into the flames.

"Kisame, why did you say that to him? I'm not exactly sure why he stormed off but you said something to make him. Now what was it?" I questioned.

Kisame sighed, looked up from the fire and spoke, "You know the only person that guy ever opens up to is you and me. I'm his partner, so we get along well as anyone else. But with you it's different. No one was ever to get two words out of him till he talked to you."

"But why would he be like that?"

"Maybe because when he first came you reminded him of his little brother. You were innocent, but still the devil. And you were determined with anything you did. Being that he just killed his clan, besides his brother, he instantly got close to you," Kisame then rubbed his head and said, "Well that's what I think at least."

I smiled and nodded, taking in all the knowledge he just gave me.

_I guess Itachi is really just lonely at times. Good thing Pein put him on the mission with me and Kisame, _I thought.

With that thought I yawned and went to bed.

I woke in the middle of the night with a start, pain coursing through my entire body. I grunted a little and tried to stand up, but of course luck was not on my side now.

_What the hell is going on?_

**'Well I'm starting to get sick of this cage and I want out now' **the sickly sweet voice of my demon sneered.

_YOU ARE NOT GETTING OUT!_

This time I gasped as she put more force behind it. This had happened a couple times, but she never tried this desperately before. Then Itachi came to mind, he can seal it up again.

With what little strength I had left I called out to Itachi, flaring my chakra so that I could be noticed. Within no time Itachi was at the front of my tent. He poked his head through and knew immediately what was going on.

"Stay calm."

He rushed over to my side and started to do complicated hand signs for the seal. Through the bandages I was wearing over my back my seal started to burn.

I gasped and looked at Itachi. Though his face was stone, his Shaningan eyes were worried. With that final look I gasped and everything went black.

_**Kohona**_

After Neji and Shika chewed Sasuke out Naruto and Sasuke headed to Ichiraku's. That stupid teme was still convinced that he never meant to leave us, but of course Naruto had his doubts. He did try till kill them plenty of times, and he wasn't going to let that go so easily.

They stepped into Ichiraku's, silent. As they took their seats their old sensei decided to come in as well. Kakashi took a seat next to Naruto and Sasuke sat on the other side of Naruto, and ordered their ramen.

"Well good to see you still alive Sasuke," Kakashi said pleasantly, but Naruto knew that Kakashi didn't trust him at all.

Sakura was like a daughter to him, and after Sasuke left she was all but empty until she met Tsunade. What ever caused Sakura pain, Kakashi came to bite it in the ass. And at the current time Sasuke has caused her pain, which meant he better watch his ass before Kakashi got him.

Naruto snickered at the thought of Sasuke getting beat up by Kakashi, something to cheer up his morose attitude.

"What are you laughing at dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh nothing, but Kakashi's right, with you back and all, many people are going to want to kill you, me included," Naruto said.

"Look how many times do I have to say I'm sorry. I had to get stronger to protect you guys, especially Sakura."

"What do you mean 'especially Sakura'?" Kakashi inquired.

"I overheard Orochimaru and Kabuto talking about when they were going to get the 'pink haired bitch'. I only knew one person with pink hair so I went with him so that I could kill him before anything could happen to her."

"Whatever, I still don't trust you," Naruto sneered.

"Hey boys here's your uhh...ramen," Ayame stuttered, noticing the friction those three were causing. Naruto glared daggers at Sasuke while Kakashi just did his eye crinkle, but his eyes looked menacing.

Naruto digged into his ramen, still glaring at Sasuke who looked uncomfortable in all ways.

I woke without pain an hour later with Itachi watching me from the corner of my tent, and Kisame outside.

I got up groggily, "Umm sorry about that Itachi."

"That's alright. Are you feeling well?" he questioned.

My head killed, along with my back. Other than that I felt fine enough to get moving. I didn't want to delay the mission any longer than I already had.

So I answered, "Fine, let's get going."

Itachi quickly assessed me nodded and got out of the tent. I sat up and put on my black shorts with a fishnet top. Then out on the Akatsuki cloak, strapped my katana on my back and walked out of the tent. Only to be stopped by a huge shark man.

"Kitten are you sure you're all right?" Kisame asked, not hiding his worry at all.

I sighed and looked up, feeling incredibly short, "Yes Fishy I'm fine. This has happened before nothing new. Now help me pack up the tent."

I could tell Kisame didn't believe me but he stilled helped with the tent while Itachi covered up out tracks.

When everything was gone it looked as if we had never been there. Feeling a little dizzy I turned to my two partners and said, "Well let's get going and kill this Ichio guy."

I smirked a little and headed off into the trees, having no idea what was to come our way.

**~Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way *cry***

**Yeah another chapter done! And not to long of a wait if I do say so my self. Tell me what cha think.**

**~Oh and what should happen to Sasuke (In other words who is gunna kick his sorry ass besides Naruto and Kakashi hehe)**

**Review please:)**


	12. Encounters

_**Snow Country **_

Kisame, Itachi, and I were running through the trees at top speed at the moment. My demon was also being quiet which made the world a much better place for me.

Things were pretty silent, except for the occasional talk between Kisame and I. Itachi, of course, stayed quiet and didn't talk except to say 'hn.' This annoyed me to no end.

Other than that nothing has gone wrong so far, besides my little episode as Kisame calls it. So you could say that jumping through the trees was the best thing in the world right now, if only there wasn't that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach again.

I thought that my demon trying to get out was the problem, but I still had that feeling. I started to hide my face more behind my straw hat, so that the others couldn't see my inner turmoil. But of course the ex-ANBU noticed.

"Sakura, what is troubling you," he asked in a monotone.

I looked at him, plastered a fake smile on my face and said calmly, "Oh, nothing is wrong," waving a hand in front of my face, "just thinking about stuff is all, nothing to worry about."

He looked at me and I could tell that he didn't believe me at all, so I did what most people would do. Hide my face with the Akatsuki cloak and hat, trying to not look guilty.

Then I started to speed up closer to Kisame up front, still feeling the penetrating eyes of the Uchiha behind me.

As I was about to talk to Kisame I felt as if someone was tugging on my bubble gum hair. I looked to my right and saw Kisame playing with my long hair, examining it. I snatched my hair from his grasp and glared at him playfully.

"Hey Fishy, what is your problem with my hair." I asked in my sweet innocent voice, which sounded nothing like the irritation I was feeling at the moment. Hey I wasn't ex-ANBU for nothing.

"Just wondering when you decided to grow out your hair Squirt, and it got lighter too."

"Okay well first of why do you want to know about my hair anyways. That's just weird for an Akatsuki member to want to know about why hair has changed," I giggled at him.

"Well when you were younger you always prided yourself with how short your hair was, saying that 'this is the hair of a kunochi' all the time. And I still think Leader-sama dyed your hair or something to make it pink when you were younger," he stated.

I thought about it and I really had no idea why I let my hair grow out again. The pink part left me in a ditch because it just got pinker on it's own so my answer was perfectly reasonable, for me that is.

"Oh so you want your hair pink to! That means I won't be the only hair freak anymore. And the pink would just look amazing with your blue, scaly skin!" I chirped up.

Kisame started to turn purple with anger, which of course I laughed at. I guess when a regular person would turn red with anger he would turn purple. Oh how great was that?

"You know what Pinky-"

"Hey you can be Pinky number two, except your hair will be a more bright and happy pink!" I shouted.

As soon as I said that Kisame went into a rant that I just decided not to listen to.I then looked behind me to see Itachi slightly smirking. Glad that I had got some emotion out of that guy I smiled to myself.

By the time Kisame shut up we had entered Snow Country, which meant we still had a days time to go te get to the location of Ichio Kiguren. And from what I read in the mission scroll this guy was good at covering his tracks, but not good enough for the Akatsuki.

We were all silent as we speed through the snow. Itachi had said earlier that we would stop at a cabin Akatsuki had built when they were in Snow. With all the silence around, in my head and outside it, I let my mind wander to my friends back in Kohona.

Naruto and Kakashi were the ones I missed the most out of anyone else. They were like a brother and father to me. When I agreed with Pein that I would come with him, I wondered what those two would do or think about me going with him.

Kakashi would understand, but Naruto was a whole different story. If I knew that knucklehead like I think I do, he is probably rounding up the rest of the Rookie 9 to come and get me.

I sighed to myself thinking what Neji and Shikamaru would do. They were as bad as Naruto when it came to me and my protection. Sai might also be a little worried since he just started to learn more about his emotions.

Why couldn't my life be a little easier for once?

"We are approaching the cabin," Itachi said bringing me out of my pensive state.

I looked ahead and saw a small wooden cabin that looked simply built. I was the first one there, because Snow country was cold and that cabin looked like a warm place to me. I was wrong.

I opened the door only to feel colder inside, even with my cloak on. Kisame came up behind me and noticed that I was shivering. He smirked, ruffled my long pink locks, and put a warm arm around me.

Surprised I turned to him, "Why the heck are you so warm while I'm freezing?"

He looked at me and said, "I have the chakra size of a tailed-beast. I think that can make me less clod than others, don't you think?"

I nodded. Naruto had always been warmer than most people when I thought about it.

**'Thats because he had that stupid tailed beats in him, idiot. Why you never noticed before I don't have a clue'** the demon said in a bored voice.

I clutched my head a bit, still having not recovered from her earlier escape attempt. The seal on my back was slightly tingling though, which did not bode well for me.

_Will you just stop treating me like I know nothing? I may end up trying to kill myself if that's what it takes for you to be gone forever._

**'Don't even think about it Saku, or you will have a very painful morning tomorrow'**

"Sakura are you okay?"

I took my hand off my head to see Itachi with those worried Shaningan eyes again.

"I'm fine, don't worry," I said waving away his concern.

Kisame still had his arm around me and I felt that I was warm enough for now. So I took Kisame's arm off of me to go find a bed. I was in deep need of rest right now.

I walked through the cabin to find four rooms, each on with a bed and desk in it, and a bathroom down the hall from the rooms. I went into the closest room and crashed on the bed not knowing just how tired I was.

_**Akatsuki Base**_

Pein was sitting in his office looking at the mounds of paperwork he had to do. Why he would have to do paperwork and not Madara, the really leader of the Akatsuki, always stumped him.

Thinking of Madara just made Pein's skin crawl. That man had been trying to get closer to his sister than what he was liking. Pein had told him to stay away from Sakura, but it seems that he didn't get the memo.

Pein sighed in exasperation, thinking of the real reason he sent Sakura on that mission. Yes Ichio needed to be taken care of he mused, but Sakura also needed to be taken out along with Itachi.

Madara had been giving the other Uchiha little space and was trying to use him to destroy the Leaf. Pein saw that Itachi wanted nothing to do with that, and given that Itachi and Sakura had become close again it seemed only reasonable to get them both out of the base on the mission farthest away from Madara.

Pein could tell that Itachi and Kisame would protect Sakura with their lives if anything went wrong. Pein had also had a bad feeling about this mission, but not a strong enough feeling to not let them leave base.

Pein then stood up abruptly, as he saw a lone Shaningan eye staring directly at him.

"Madara what is it? You can see that I am very busy at the moment," Pein said gesturing to his mound of paperwork, "so make this quick."

Madara chuckled darkly and looked Pein straight in the eyes, "I see that you have sent little Sakura and Itachi on a mission with that overgrown fish. Why send them so far to Snow, if I may ask?"

"There was a loose end and they were the only ones available to go. Is that all?" Pein asked getting slightly on edge.

"Oh nothing, just that you are keeping what is rightfully mine from me. Those two, especially Sakura, are mine to use. You cannot keep them from me forever Pein."

Pein growled and grinded out, "Sakura does not belong to _anyone_. She is her own person, and I intend to keep it that way, even if that means going through you," is voice now deadly.

Madara laughed and spoke ruefully, "Like you could even _touch _me. You are a fool Pein if you keep this up."

Pein stared at him fully in the face, Rinnegan eyes flashing in the darkness, "Who says you know everything that I can do? You do not know my full capacity of power."

Madara chuckled again then spoke in a bone-chilling tone, "Oh no, you do not know _my_ full capacity. Be careful with who you keep close Pein."

And with that Pein was left alone in his darkened office with a lot to think about.

_**Snow Country**_

I woke up with my back's seal burning again. I took a sharp intake of breath and did some hand signs I learned from Kakashi. Putting all my concentration into those seals, my back's pain started to cease.

I pulled myself out of my bed and went to the bathroom to cool down. This was starting to get real old real fast. If this get's in the way of the mission Kisame and Itachi will have my head.

I unwrapped the bandages that covered my upper torso and checked on my seal, looking in the mirror. The seal still looked like Naruto's except instead of black ink mine was silver, giving it an eerie feel to it.

I sighed to myself, thinking that Danzo was going to pay for what he did to me and my brother. He had no right to seal a demon inside of me and use me as a weapon for his own use.

With those thoughts I took off my black shorts and stepped into the shower turning on the warm water welcoming the feeling of the warm water against my skin.

So much has happened it just felt good to relax, even though I was only here to assassinate someone. But that didn't matter, because that was my life as a ninja if you think about it.

I felt all clean when I got out of the tiny shower. Wrapping the towel around my long hair, then wrapped the bandages around my upper torso again, put on the black shorts and hung up the towel letting my hair air-dry. I then headed back to my room to get into something warmer, only to run into someone and fall on my butt as I opened the door.

I rubbed the top of my wet pink hair and then looked up to find Itachi in black pants and a black shirt, his hair neatly tied in a ponytail. He looked down and reached a hand out to help me up. I laughed nervously to myself and took his hand that pulled me back up.

"Sorry about that Itachi, just wasn't looking where I was going," I spoke.

"You should watch where you are going," he said in his famous monotone, and then went to the bathroom and shut the door.

_Rude jerk_, I thought. He may have his moments, but most of the time I think he just enjoyed making seem like an idiot. I huffed and went back to my room.

I opened my pack and put a fishnet top over my bandages and kept the black ninja shorts on. Then I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail to keep it out of my face.

There was a knock on my door so I looked up and said to come in.

Kisame came walking in adorned in his Akatsuki cloak. He smirked at what I was wearing and all I could say was, "You perv, look me in the eyes and tell me why you came into my room Fishy."

"Hey I wasn't looking at anything," he said hands waving in front of his face, "I just wanted to let you know that breakfast was ready and that we will be leaving shortly after that."

I smirked at him and said, "Kay, now get out please before I make you another Hidan case."

Kisame visibly gulped, something I snickered at, and said, "Hey let's not make any holes in the walls anymore, at least not ones that have my shape. I couldn't care less about Hidan though." With that he walked out of my room and into the kitchen.

I made sure that I had senbons, kunai, shuiken, and my katana on me just in case we were attacked while we were here. I inserted the senbons into my hair and put the kunai and shuiken in my weapons pouch. Finally putting the katana on my back I headed to the kitchen.

I walked in to find Itachi and Kisame waiting for me. I looked at the contents of the food and winced slightly, it was ramen. I t reminded me of all the time Naruto had dragged me out of my apartment to get ramen for breakfast.

Kisame noticed and said, "Hey it doesn't look that bad Squirt, right?"

I put a smile on my face, knowing that I shouldn't be thinking of Naruto right now, and chirped up, "Don't worry Fishy, it looks great. Just didn't expect you to make ramen though."

"Hey its easy to make. Now sit down and eat," he said pointing to the chair in between him and Itachi.

I nodded and sat down eating my ramen, which was pretty good if I do say so myself. In between bites I thought that I heard something outside, but put it aside when I noticed that the other two didn't look worried.

After we finished eating we went to get our packs from our rooms and head off. So I went back to my room packed my bag. When that was all done I put on the Akatsuki cloak, which made me feel instantly warmer.

I meet Itachi and Kisame at the door when we were all set and done. I smiled up at them and opened the door, only to feel a cool wind blow me into Itachi. I looked up and apologized to him, then I heard something. This time I could tell that Itachi and Kisame heard too because they got tense.

I activated my Rinnegan and looked at our snow-covered surroundings the forest. I strained my eyes to look farther.

Itachi saw where I was looking and he looked in that direction as well with his Shaningan eyes ablaze.

We all got out of the doorway and into fighting a fighting stance. With my katana in front of me I finally got a good look at our enemy as he emerged from the forest.

I gasped and spoke, "Your supposed to be dead."

**~Cliffy! Sorry it took me a while to update...I'm just lazy sometimes.**

**R&R! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**


	13. Dangerous Times

_**Snow Country**_

I looked ahead of me to see someone that was thought to be dead. His yellow eyes had the look of hunger in them, and his long black hair swayed in the breeze. This man was the only thing that had kept me from my brother, and I knew that I just had to kill him. Plus I didn't want Itachi and Kisame to get hurt, or anyone else in the Akatsuki for that matter(well I don't care so much for Hidan).

My katana was shinning a little in front of me and I could see every little detail around me with the Rinnegan activated, which meant I could see the obvious anger of my teammates, and also a little hint of worry in their eyes.

"So looks like my prey has grown up, hot wonderful," slithered the Snake Sannin. His tongue hanging out slightly has he said so, making me a little more disgusted with him.

"Looks like your brother didn't kill him that well Itachi," Kisame growled next to me. I could tell that he wasn't angry with Itachi; no he was just in a rage because my safety was in danger. That didn't mean that I needed protection.

"What do you want Orochimaru? I'm not in the mood for games right now," I spoke, a little proud that my voice did not waver the slightest bit. If possible my Rinnegan shined a little brighter with red in the center, surrounded by the grayish purple of the rest of my eye.

"Aw, Sakura-chan doesn't want to play games. But that doesn't matter; I am only here so that I may live on. Now why don't you come forward and I won't have to hurt you guard dogs, hm?" Orochimaru said, while he laughed a bit.

"She is not going anywhere with you," Itachi spoke calmly, though anger was laced through his voice. He stepped in front of me to take a protective stance, and that was where I drew the line.

"You don't need to protect me Itachi; I am as strong as my brother. Same goes for you Kisame," I said.

My long pink locks blew in the breeze as I stepped next to him, and Kisame took out his sword as well and put it in front of him. He ruffled my hair a bit in a loving manner just before he spoke, "Don't get ahead of yourself Kitten, we are just as capable at fighting as you are."

I smiled up at him and then turned back to glare at Orochimaru.

"Sorry to break up the friendship speech but you have something I want, now come here and I won't hurt your precious friends," Orochimaru seethed.

That's when Kisame attacked with me and Itachi behind him. Kisame swung his sword above Orochimaru's head, but he ducked and disappeared. I smashed my chakra fist into the ground where I could see the snake hiding. Having the Rinnegan gave me excellent eyesight, even better than the Shaningan eye.

The earth blew up where I smashed my fist then a sword came out of the pit, probably his sword from his mouth. As it came toward me I stuck my katana out and blocked the blow, and through the dust I saw two dark figures moving down to where the sword came from.

Knowing that it was Kisame and Itachi I headed down to see what was going on. When I got there Itachi was doing his Amaterasu, with Shaningan activated to give it a better kick. The Snake Sanin just stood there and smiled as he summoned up his white snake.

Okay now I know we are in trouble, because last time I checked that snake was very hard to kill (from what Naruto has told me). My ringed eyes assessed the situation before I jumped in. Kisame was standing by Itachi's side Samehada raised in front of him. Itachi's eyes were spinning as he watched the white snake evade his flames. If Pein knew what I was about to do I think that he would kill me right now.

But I had no choice if I wanted to rid myself of Orochimaru.

_**Kohona**_

Naruto was currently with Sasuke and Kakashi at Team 7's old bridge. This brought back memories that Naruto wanted to keep buried, but they refused to stay in the recess of his mind sadly. He looked back at Kakashi, with no book, who was just staring at the water.

Naruto smiled to himself as he remembered what Sakura had done to make Kakashi stop reading those books out in public. Let's just say that Kakashi sulked for about three months, and his visible eye was black for that duration. Sakura could be very scary at times, even worse that she was Kakashi's surrogate daughter.

Naruto looked at Sasuke who was also staring back at the water, watching leaves fall. He was in between Kakashi and Naruto, and had been in deep thought for a while. Naruto wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but he hoped that it was nothing along the lines of destroying the village.

Naruto had his doubts that Sasuke only came back to the village to destroy it, though he wish he could be believe that Sasuke actually came back for Team 7.

"The Hokage request the three of yours presence immediately," a voice said form the water. An ANBU stood atop the water, awaiting their response.

"Tell her we're on our way," Kakashi said absently.

From there Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi jumped on top of roofs heading toward the Hokage Building, when Naruto noticed a chakra signature from the building far away. He had gotten better at sensing chakras to the point where he could sense them a mile away.

"Hey, Kakashi," Naruto inquired, "what's Gaara doing here?"

_**Snow Country**_

I started to focus all my chakra into my eyes, making my Rinnegan go to its ultimate power. This could make me pass out, or kill me if I wasn't careful. This was the first time I had actually used this jutsu, so I was a little on edge.

This snake guy was starting to get on my last nerve as I saw him smirking from atop the white snake's head. He was going to be brought down now. In the back of my mind I was damning Sasuke for not doing killing Orochimaru properly. Now I would have to pick up the pieces for him.

I jumped down to Itachi's side, my hair billowing in the breeze and snow falling on my face as I did so. I looked up at him and spoke, "Itachi, I need you and Kisame to get away from here now. There is no time to argue and I know what I'm doing."

"Kitten we can't leave you here alone with him. You know that as well, plus I'd rather not get in trouble with your brother," Kisame said from Itachi's other side.

"Just do it. If you fear what my brother can do then you should fear what I can do as well. Orochimaru won't be here when I'm done with him."

I looked to Itachi again trying to send the message through my eyes. I could see that he understood, but he did not agree with whatever I was going to do. In truth I only just made up this jutsu before I went with Akatsuki, and I knew it was dangerous. But Itachi didn't know so he would just have to trust me.

"Saku-," Kisame was about to say but he was interrupted by Itachi's monotone voice.

"Kisame let's go," he said, with a tone that meant no argument.

Kisame was about to protest, but soon enough they were transported by a swarm of black ravens. Now I was alone with Orochimaru and his summon. Little did he know that I could summon as well.

"What are you going to do now that your little guard dogs have left you," Orochimaru said in a rasping voice.

"This," I simply said.

I made some hand signs, bit my finger and summoned up a great blue dragon. he was the same size as the white snake, but his fangs were bigger and sharper in my opinion. I have only summoned Ryuu when I was desperate, and now would be one of those times.

"Looks like the little Blossom learned a new trick, and not what my former teammate would use. Sakura-chan has surpassed her master it seems," Orochimaru shouted from his summon.

My eyes focused on the man who helped destroy my life, and my brother's. All I used to think about when I saw him was how he had taken Sasuke away, but that was a thing of the past now. Orochimaru was going to die today, I will make sure of it.

"Yes I have, and it seems like Ryuu isn't the only one hungry for a battle," I smirked a bit, "but my inner demon seems a little bloodthirsty at the moment. Why don't I let her out?"

This is what might end up killing me. Kakashi said that if I ever tried this technique and couldn't control her I would die. He made me promise never to use it, but I had to now. He may be a father to me, but I'm very smart in my own way. Using the Rinnegan might help me control her, now I would have to wait and see.

I did some hand signs and pressed a palm to my back, making it instantly burn. I gasped a little but contained my pain. I could see from the look on Orochimaru's face that my back must be glowing a bit by now.

'**This is gunna be fun,'** my demon said as she merged her chakra with my own.

My features started to change as we merged together. My hair grew to my knees now, my Rinnegan eyes shinned an even brighter shade of red and grey, and my clothes changed as well. I was now wearing a sleeveless white cloak, a blue dragon embroidered on it, a black sleeveless top and my black ninja shorts. In my opinion I looked pretty bad-ass, and I think Orochimaru thought so too.

He looked a little bit scared, what a surprise.

'**I'm only helping you so that I don't die along with you Saku,'** my demon seethed out,** 'plus it has been a while sense I have had a good fight.'**

_Just don't try and take over and we will be good okay?_

'_**No promises Saku.'**_

**~Sorry it took me a while to update, major writers block. and if the tiny fighting scene sucked let me know cuz I have never done one before.**

**So I'm just gunna wing it.**

**Review Please! they make me want to write more:)**


	14. Fighting

_**Snow Country **_

My hair whipped around my legs as I stood atop of my dragon. I had only summoned Ryuu two times before this so we weren't that well acquainted, but I knew that he loved a good fight. Just like my demon I merged myself with.

"So looks like we meet again snake," Ryuu growled out.

That struck me surprised a bit. "You know him?" I asked.

"Oh no, he doesn't know me, he knows my snake summon Manda. Right Manda?" Orochimaru asked.

The giant snake in front of me hissed at me and Ryuu. "You know the last time I saw you, you were purple. Hm, now your white which means you got old," Ryuu snickered.

'**Hey when are we actually going to start fighting Saku?'** my demon asked me.

Orochimaru's snake suddenly jumped at me and Ryuu out of nowhere. Ryuu flew upward and out of harm's way with me holding onto his head, not trying to lose my balance.

_Well there's your answer, _I thought back to my other half.

"That was a close one," I said to Ryuu.

"You got that right Sakura," he huffed out, "You know that this is going to be a tough one little girl. I almost lost against Manda all those years ago," then he turned a little to look at me with his big black eyes, "And why is your chakra different?"

"Long story short I'm merged with my demon at the moment and I have the Rinnegan. Now let's go kill the snake," I shouted.

"Sounds good to me," Ryuu shouted back as he dove back down.

**I hate dragons, you know that don't you?**

_Why should I care? Now give me some of your power so we can end this quickly. I'm planning on using one of my brothers jutsus, and with you chakra and mine combined we could pull it off._

**I'm guessing it has something to do with his gravity jutsus, am I correct?**

_You'll see._

Manda once again tried to bite Ryuu's head off, but my blue dragon was to quick for him. I looked back at Orochimaru to see him with that stupid tongue of his out. I really hated that tongue, it was just unnatural.

"Sakura-chan why aren't you attacking me? I'm a little surprised, knowing you have Tsunade's temper and Kakashi's fighting will you should have attacked by now. What are you planning?" Orochimaru asked me.

I looked at him straight on, my Rinnegan getting ever brighter as I did so, "You ruined everything for me. Because of you I was taken away from my brother, a demon was put inside of me, Sasuke became beyond helping, and I just don't like you and that _stupid _tongue. I have something planned for you that's quick and easy. I can make it quicker if you're just so impatient," I seethed, he was really starting to piss me off with his arrogant attitude and he needed to be brought down.

"Hm, I did all those things yes but...your wrong about Sasuke," he chuckled out.

"What do you mean?" I shouted back at him.

_**Kohona**_

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke all went into the Hokage's office with different reactions to what they saw. Naruto with glee, Kakashi with indifference (as always), and Sasuke with a worried look on his face.

Gaara looked back from Tsunade to the group of three in front of him. He smirked a bit at Naruto and Kakashi, but his expression turned downright cold when he looked at Sasuke. Naruto noticed this and got a little worried but blew it off and went to his friend to give him his bone crushing hug.

"Gaara! I missed you so much, why don't I get to see you anymore?" Naruto yelled at Gaara as he stilled hugged him.

Gaara smirked and pushed Naruto off of him with his sand, making Naruto fall onto the ground.

"Unlike you Naruto I'm busy with the safety of my village and its people. Maybe you will know what that is like someday," Gaara said then he turned back to Tsunade who looked like she was about to scold Naruto and spoke to her, "I'm here regarding the letter you sent me Hokage-sama."

Naruto got off the floor and looked at Tsunade. She looked worn down, tired, and she had a big bottle of sake next to her. She took a quick sip and looked back at Gaara, folding her hands together in the process.

"Yes, the letter about Sakura," Tsunade said in a very somber tone, "I hope that you will not have any ill feelings towards her and her decision."

Naruto looked back at Gaara who had a sad appearance on his face. Naruto understood why, he knew that Sakura and Gaara had gotten closer over the years. After she had save Gaara's brother she became considered as part of their family in a sense. Whenever she wasn't on a mission or in Kohona she was in Suna. Gaara and Sakura became very close friends, like how Naruto and Sakura were, and she was very helpful towards Gaara's village.

Naruto remembered the first time Gaara and Sakura worked together on a mission concerning Akatsuki. He was on that mission as well. Let's just say that Gaara and Naruto said something wrong to her and they ended up a mile away from her. Naruto rubbed his jaw absentmindedly, remembering how hard her punches were. But they all became very close after that.

"No I understand. She wanted to protect Naruto and see her family. Knowing her I'm not surprised at her decision. She always did think about others before herself. But I do have a question for you Hokage-sama," Gaara said in that monotone voice of his.

Tsunade looked at him and knew what was coming, "Go on."

Gaara's eyes just got harder as he looked back at her and asked, "What is the Uchiha doing here. Didn't he try to kill Naruto and Sakura in Cloud?"

Naruto looked back at his friends with sad eyes but spoke before Tsunade could, "Sasuke-teme over here says that it was all just an act. I don't believe him though."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not lying you idiot?" Sasuke said.

"Well lets see-" Naruto said but was cut off by Kakashi.

"Tsunade we have a problem," he said in an urgent tone. Kakashi was always so laid back, and Naruto knew the only reason he would get like this is if he or Sakura were in trouble. He was fine so it had to be the latter, he thought with a shiver.

"What is it Kakashi?" Tsunade asked and then stood up from her desk.

"I made a jutsu that lets me know when Sakura uses a certain summoning I told her not to use," he said, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a mark that looked like a small diamond, "and she just used it, which means that she is in trouble."

"Wait what summoning are you talking about? Since when can she summon?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

"I'm guessing that it is Ryuu, correct?" Gaara asked completely ignoring Sasuke and his questioning.

"Yes," was all Kakashi said. Naruto saw the urgency in his posture and started to get even more worried. He had seen Sakura use this twice before. Once when just the two of them were on a mission, and a second time when they were on the mission with Gaara. When she used it she almost died because of using too much of her chakra.

"Uchiha get me Shikamaru now!" Tsunade shouted.

"But-" Sasuke started to say.

"Go now and then we will tell you more," she interrupted him.

Naruto saw the reluctant look on his face but he went out the door without another word.

"Gaara," Naruto said,"you remember the last time she used him? We almost lost her that last time. Who do you think she is fighting that she would need to use Ryuu?"

"With the Akatsuki on her side, I don't know," Gaara said then he looked at Naruto again, "but I am determined to find out."

Little did Naruto and Gaara know that she was doing more than just summoning the great blue beast. She was doing something that she had never done before.

_**Snow Country**_

Snow started to come down harder as I looked at Orochimaru who had glee in his eyes. I knew that he knew I still harbored a little of feeling towards Sasuke. He was just playing with me, that's what he does right?

"Hm, how about you come with me and you will find out," he slithered out, sticking out that disgusting tongue again. I swear if he does that one more time I'm going to rip it out.

"I don't think so," I said as I raised my hand in the air then I yelled, "Banshou Tenin!" The wind blew my hair forward as I threw Orochimaru and Manda into the woods with a crash. I saw Pein use this jutsu during a training session and picked up in it instantly. In a way I was like the Shaningan, able to copy anything I saw. Speaking of the Shaningan I looked behind me to see we were a safe distance from where Itachi used his Amaterasu.

Those flames wouldn't touch me as long as I stayed a mile away from them, and with the flying and pushing Orochimaru back he were a good three miles away from the flames.

My interval of five seconds was up so I was able to use that gravity jutsu again. I wonder what Kisame would say about that, but I had to put that thought aside. Because at the moment Manda was coming out of the huge crater he created in the forest, and was heading straight at me. And worst of all not only he but Orochimaru looked pissed off.

"Gouryuuka no Jutsu!" I shouted and did some hand signs. Then a fire dragon erupted from my hands heading straight towards Orochimaru and Manda. Ryuu also blew out fire to make the dragon even stronger making all the snow and trees in the fire dragon's path get turned to ash.

Problem was that Manda dogged it and only got skimmed by the fire dragon, and the dragon dissipated as it passed the giant snake.

**Well that didn't work very well now did it Saku?**

_Shut up. And I'm guessing that since now my hair is at my ankles that you have transferred the needed chakra to me?_

**Right. Now go and get this over with...this fight has already weaken me enough and I have a bad feeling that if we don't use your brother's ultimate jutsu soon Orochimaru is going to catch on.**

_Got it._

My hair was indeed now at my ankles, good thing that the wind was blowing at me or I would have to cut my hair off to get it out of the way like when I was a gennin. Then Ryuu started to scream. I looked down to see another one of Orochimaru's smaller snakes bite Ryuu's tail.

"Ryuu hold still!" I shouted at him.

I sent some kunai at the snake and hit the mark on top of his head. The snake then disappeared with a poof. But I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I gasped and went down on my knees holding my shoulder in pain.

Gritting my teeth I looked at my shoulder to see a large gash and then I looked up to see a smiling Orochimaru. Realization hit me hard then. He used that smaller summon to distract me in helping Ryuu, leaving myself completely open. He had used that sword that came out of his mouth to get me in the shoulder.

But I wasn't an ANBU for nothing.

I trained my body a couple of years ago to heal itself when it was injured. This gash was pretty deep and probably had poison in it from the sword. The poison I would have to get out later but I could heal the major pain of it enough to not notice the pain that much.

"Sakura are you alright?" Ryuu asked me, his eyes still trained ahead at Orochimaru.

"Yeah," I said while slowly standing up, "just a little cut I'll be fine."

"Good, I was a worried there for a second little girl."

I laughed a bit then noticed what he called me again, "Hey I'm not little! I'm average."

Ryuu sighed, "This is not the time and place to fight right now. Shut up and use whatever you can to end this, I'll help out in any way I can."

I looked forward at Orochimaru, whose arms were now crossed, and knew Ryuu was right. I now had enough chakra to use _that_ jutsu. I just had to get Orochimaru and Manda distracted. I went through my element ninjutsus that I knew, wind and fire. These were the two elements I was best at. Though I was better at genjutsu I knew that it would take up to much chakra, so I stuck with a wind jutsu for a distraction.

"Hana Chirimai!" I shouted doing the hand signs as I well. A spinning vortex of flower petals engulfed Orochimaru and Manda. I added a little more chakra into it making the petals sharper and cut them when they came in contact with a petal. Using my Rinnegan I looked through the flower vortex and saw Orochimaru struggling and bleeding all over. This was just the distraction I needed.

I put my hand out hoping that this would work, it was the first time I ever even tried it. I had asked Pein about this jutsu and he said that it could only be used by Rinnegan users. Time to test it out I guess.

"Shinra Tensei!" I shouted.

I heard a loud bang before I passed out on Ryuu's head.

_**Snow Country-with Itachi and Kisame**_

Itachi was watching the battle between Orochimaru and Sakura from a far distance, what he deemed was far anyways. Kisame was next to him, yelling at him.

"What the hell is your problem Itachi! She could die out there we need to get back to her now," Kisame shouted at Itachi for the tenth time.

Then the blue dragon Itachi had seen Sakura summoned flew up into the air away from Orochimaru's snake.

"She can handle herself fine," Itachi simply said.

When he looked back at her he really didn't want to leave, but something in those Rinnegan eyes of hers told him that he could trust her. Itachi never got worried about anyone besides his little brother and Kisame. He could care less about anyone else.

But as he watched the battle progress with his bright red eyes he got a pulling feeling inside of him. He wanted to go and help her, and kill Orochimaru himself so that Sakura wouldn't have any blood on her hands. But he knew he couldn't.

Kisame was still shouting at him but Itachi knew that Kisame knew that Sakura was capable of doing this and not dieing, that's why he was still here. Itachi saw that ever since Kisame had met Sakura when she was younger he thought of her as a little sister that he needed to protect and care for. Same went for Itachi for when Sakura was younger she reminded him of Sasuke.

But she had grown older and stronger and he knew that she would be alright. She was the sister of their fearless leader after all.

The battle in front of Itachi's eyes looked like it was at its closing when Orochimaru and his snake got caught in what looked like a vortex of flower petals. Itachi never knew she could do two different type of nature jutsus in such a short period of time, he would have to ask her if she knew more fire type based jutsus after this was over.

But then Itachi got this horrible feeling in his stomach when he saw a very large explosion, and that was an understatement. His red eyes widened as he looked more closely at the explosion. This looked like it could wipe out an entire village from the looks of it.

Kisame stopped talking and just started ahead. Itachi knew that it took a lot for that shark to be able to shut up, this explosion was one of those things from what he could tell. Itachi had never seen something of this large caliber ever. He was just shocked.

But then shocked was replaced with deep worry with Kisame's next words.

"Itachi I can't see her, where did she go dammit," Kisame said as he tried to look through the dust cloud that covered a very large crater.

And that was the thing they had no idea where she went. But a sudden gust of wind and snow cleared the dust from the explosion to reveal Orochimaru and his snake on the ground dead. Relife flooded through Itachi, but he still couldn't find Sakura. That was until the huge blue dragon that she summoned shot up into the air.

And it headed straight towards them.

**~And ther is another chapter! My first major fight seen...if the jutsus Sakura did confused just look them up online and you'll get it. I thought they were pretty selff explanitory though.**

**Please Review! I will update a whole faster with the more reviews I get:)**


	15. Worry all Around

_**Snow Country-with Itachi and Kisame**_

Itachi saw the great blue dragon that Sakura had summoned come flying at them with amazing speed. They were quite a few miles away from where the battle had taken place, yet this dragon seemed to be doing just fine.

Itachi looked back at Kisame who had Samehada out and placed at his side. From what Itachi saw, Kisame wasn't in a hostile stance, no, he was just ready for anything to come out. Itachi still had his Sharingan activated for that case as well.

The dragon was now hovering in front of them waiting for them to move so that he could land. Taking the hint Itachi and Kisame moved backward in order for the dragon to land. What they saw when he landed was what they were afraid of.

There laid Sakura, whose hair seemed to now grow upward towards its original length, passed out. Her clothing had also changed from the Akatsuki cloak to a sleeveless white cloak, with a blue dragon embroidered on it as well. Under that a black sleeveless top and her normal black ninja shorts.

The sight of her passed out made Itachi think about what she had done to herself now that would get her in this position. Now he started to believe that Kisame was right and that they should've stayed and helped her. All Itachi could do was beat himself up for his own stupidity that got her hurt.

"You are the ones the little girl is traveling with right?" the blue dragon asked.

"Yes," was all Itachi said.

"My name is Ryuu, and I'm a personal summon of hers," Ryuu said as he gestured with his head to his back where Sakura laid, "and I'm here to return her to you. She seems to be in a pretty bad condition at the moment...and she did something that I never thought was possible."

"What did she do," Kisame inquired, his voice etched with strain so to not shout.

"She merged with her demon, that's why she looks different than before and her chakara changed too, seemed that it got darker. The kid has always worried me, now it seems that all she does is worries others as well too," Ryuu said as he looked at Kisame and Itachi.

Itachi looked back at Sakura to see that she somehow now had her Akatsuki cloak and katana on and her hair was mid-back, she looked as she did before. Itachi approached Ryuu and carried her bridal style off of his back. Ryuu gave a satisfied grunt and looked at the two missing-nins.

"You better take good care of her. She may be a pain in my side at times, but that doesn't mean I don't care about her wellbeing," the dragon said, "Oh and I bet that she would have wanted you to know the outcome of the battle."

He sighed and spoke, "She came out on top, Orochimaru is dead for good this time."

And with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Itachi shifted Sakura in his arms a bit so that she would have a more comfortable position, then he looked behind him at Kisame. He now had his Samehada on his back but he was giving Itachi the death glare, and a very intense one at that.

Kisame, still glaring yelled, "This is all your fault! If you hadn't transported us away she wouldn't be unconscious right now. We should have never left her alone back there!"

Kisame now raising up to his full height looked down at Itachi,"And even better now we have to tell her brother, our _leader._ Sure, he'll be happy that she killed the snake bastard, but he'll probably want to cut our heads off and burn them once he sees what kind of state she is in."

"Not only will her brother be angry, but the rest of the members will too. Ever since she came back to us this organization has changed...and you know it," Kisame said as he looked at Itachi's stoic face, "Kakuzu can actually talk about something other than money, Deidara can shut up every once in a while, Sasori talks to people besides his puppets, I thought I really saw a real smile on Leader's face...and look at you and me."

Itachi understood what he was saying, everyone in the Akatsuki had indeed changed, with the exception of Hidan, Zetsu (who is never there anyways), and _Tobi._ What Itachi didn't get was how the two of them have changed, he would've noticed if Kisame had changed even the slightest. He was still his annoying, loud, shark partner and Itachi himself was still as stoic as ever. If he didn't notice any changes with Kisame than he must not be that focused lately.

That made sense though, whenever _Tobi_ was at base Itachi spent his time making sure that he didn't get near Sakura. Itachi knew that _Tobi_ wanted to use Sakura in his plans as he was using Itachi, but of course Itachi would not allow such a thing to happen to her. He knew that Sasori wouldn't let _Tobi_ touch a hair on her head either since he knew the truth as well.

"Itachi you know that we have changed," Kisame said again, "We were one of the closest members with her when she was younger and we still are now. I've become more careful around her to make sure that I don't accidently hurt her, and you know damn well that I don't care about anyone else's wellbeing than my own and yours."

"And you," he said pointing a large blue finger at Itachi, "have become more open around her. When you first came to the organization at 13 you became immediately attached to her. We all assumed it was because she was the same age as your little brother that you just abandoned, though you were always good at hiding your feelings for her. You talk more than just a 'hn' and you aren't sulking around in your room anymore. Face it if she doesn't get up by the time we get back we won't have just Leader on our back, we'll have the rest too."

Itachi couldn't believe what he was hearing, Kisame actually made sense. He actually had a brain inside the blue head. Not only that but, was he really that easy to read to Kisame. Itachi had always been a master at hiding his emotions and he was careful to never let his guard down around others, even Kisame. Did Sakura coming back lower his walls and make him less aware of what he was doing? He sure hoped not.

_**Kohona- with Sasuke**_

Sasuke was beyond the point of irritation by now for two reasons.

First of all, everyone back at the tower seemed to know what was going on with Sakura, while he was left in the dark. Why couldn't they believe that he didn't have any motive other than to be with his friends, his family, when he came back to Kohona? This is the question that he had kept asking himself since he came back.

And secondly, he had no idea where the hell Shikamaru was.

Sasuke looked at all the spots he remembered that Shikamaru had frequented when they were younger. Shoji shops, his home, and places where he cloud-watched. And still he hasn't found him. Sasuke even tried to find his chakra signature; problem was that it was masked for some reason or another.

Another question Sasuke was now asking himself was why was _he_ the one that had to find that lazy guy? They all knew that the Rookie nine wanted nothing to do with him right now, probably because he had tried to kill Naruto and Sakura, though that was just faked. And that's what they didn't understand.

While Sasuke was lost in thought as he looked for Shikamaru he didn't notice who was now looking at him...

"UN-YOUTHFUL!" was all Sasuke heard before he was kicked head first into a tree.

Getting up from his disgruntled position he looked up to see his attacker, to find the one and only Bushy Brows. Lee was not someone he wanted to run into now of all times. As he looked at Lee he saw that he still wore his green spandex suit, he thought with horror, and he was now pointing his finger at Sasuke with sparkles in his eyes.

Kami, why did the world hate him so much?

"What the hell was that for?" Sasuke growled out as he got off the ground.

"For your un-youtfulness Sasuke. You were the one who tried to kill my friends and for that you can never be forgiven!" Lee shouted back at Sasuke with fire burning in his eyes now.

At that moment Sasuke was just about ready to use chidori on this brat, but he knew that would only get him in more trouble. So he took the next best option, to walk away and go back to looking for Shikamaru.

"Hey! Come back here now," Lee shouted as he ran towards Sasuke at amazing speed. Now Sasuke was in a deep crater in the ground. Great.

Since Sasuke was not allowed to train for now or use any of his abilities he was unable to fight properly against Lee. But Sasuke didn't really care about that anymore. His Sharingan was now activated, he was just having a really bad day.

"I wouldn't do anything stupid if I was you," a voice said behind Sasuke.

Sasuke was now out of the crater and was looking behind him to see the guy that took _his _place on Team 7. Oh today was just really not a good day for him.

"And why shouldn't I?" Sasuke grounded out, ready to punch someone through a wall right now.

Sai gave him that fake stupid fake smile and said, "Aren't you supposed to be looking for Shikamaru because something has happened to Sakura?"

"What! What has happened to my Sakura-chan!" Lee shouted as appeared by Sai's side.

"You remember what happened on that mission when she was with Gaara and Naruto, well she used _that_ jutsu again."

"Oh no, this isn't good," Lee said, he was now all somber looking.

Okay even Lee somehow knows what's going on, and still Sasuke doesn't. And he still needed to find Shikamaru.

Controlling his inner rage he asked Sai if he had seen Shikamaru.

"Yes, he is right behind you now," Sai said.

Sasuke looked behind him to see Shikamaru walking up towards them with a serious expression on his face.

"I was told that Uchiha was looking for me...I'm guessing Sakura did something troublesome again didn't she?" Shikamaru asked.

_**3 miles from Akatsuki Base- with Itachi and Kisame**_

They have been traveling non-stop at high speed for the past eight hours. Sakura was still unconscious and safely secured in Itachi's arms. Itachi was holding her closely to his chest to make sure that she didn't fall, though she was very light in his opinion. Kisame was behind them, watching their backs for any unwanted company.

They didn't talk at all since they left Snow Country, and Itachi was happy about that. He didn't want to get chewed out by Kisame anymore; he was going to get enough of that from Leader and the other members.

Itachi still couldn't help but feel guilty for Sakura's current state. He did leave her with Orochimaru and if he hadn't he would've been able to keep her safe from harm. Now they were heading back to base and Itachi wasn't thinking about his impending doom, no, he was thinking about Madara.

Madara had been making plans for him and his younger brother that were putting him on edge. He wanted a full out war with Sasuke and Itachi by his side, the last thing Itachi wanted was a war and for Sasuke to be anywhere _near _Madara. And then there was Sakura.

Madara had been taking an interest in her lately, and it was quiet unsettling to Itachi. Madara was an expert in hiding his immense chakra, this being the reason why Sakura or any of the other members knew about his true identity. With Sakura now of age and battle ready, with her Rinnegan (which seemed to have different properties from Leader's) she would be the perfect tool to use against Leader. Madara would probably not just use her to get Leader on his side; he would also use her in the front lines when his little war would start.

Ever since Sasori found out about who Madara was by a stroke of luck, he and Itachi have been silently plotting against him. When Sasori had been brought back to life by Leader Madara was at the scene, so Sasori was let in on the secret. When Sakura came back to them they both told each other that they would watch her if Madara decided to make his move.

With these things in mind Itachi speed up ahead with Kisame following along from behind. 20 min. later they were at the entrance of the base and Kisame was doing the complicated hand-signs to open the doorway because Itachi's hands were a little full at the moment.

When it opened they walked in and headed straight to Sakura's room, the one right next to Leader's. Hopefully he was in his office like he always was. They got lucky, his chakra signature was not close by.

Kisame opened the door to Sakura's room and Itachi walked through it. Sakura was still close to his chest as he approached her bed. Carefully Itachi laid her down and put the blankets over her so that she would stay warm. He was still slightly troubled when she didn't move at all.

Itachi headed back towards the door where Kisame stood waiting, a morose expression etched on his face. Itachi knew he was hurting just as much as he was. It had been only about two weeks since Sakura had come back to Akatsuki and she already got hurt.

They were so dead when they talked to Leader. Completely, incorvocibaly, undeniably dead.

And Kisame knew that as well.

The two Akatsuki partners walked down the mazes of hallways, careful to not run into any of the other members that were lurking around. They went through the twist and turns of the hallways and soon enough they were in front of Leader's office.

Unfazed from what was about to unfold Itachi was knocked on the door awaiting a reply. Kisame stood steadfast next to Itachi's side waiting as well for their next encounter with the man that could destroy them without a second thought.

"Enter," came the deep voice of the Leader from inside the room.

Itachi turned the knob on the door and looked at the scene before him. Leader was sitting at his desk with his hands folded in front of him, with Konan by his side. No surprise there.

"Where is Sakura, her chakra signature is very faint," Leader spoke, his voice unwavering.

Before Kisame ran his mouth Itachi spoke up, "We encountered Orochimaru on our mission; she is unconscious at the moment."

The Leader's eyes narrowed at the two before him not believing what they were saying. Orochimaru was supposed to be dead right now.

"Where is my sister right now?" Leader asked.

"In her room resting," Kisame said.

"How is Orochimaru still alive?"

"Itachi's brother isn't as skilled enough to kill him as we thought...but Sakura is."

Surprise flashed across Leader's face for a second before becoming impassive once again. "What exactly did she do that killed him?"

"We do not know," Itachi said before Kisame could speak.

Leader unfolded his hands, stood up, and walked in front of his desk glaring at Kisame and Itachi.

"What do you mean you don't know how, weren't you watching her like I told you to?" Leader asked his voice becoming a little more menacing with each word he spoke.

"She told us she could handle Orochimaru and we believed her, her chakra took on a nature similar to yours as she told us. We let her fight on her own," Itachi said still holding his ground.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... I remembered this time:)**

**My internet really hates me so much. My laptop refuses to connect witht the internet so this is why it is taking a long time. Even now I'm using someone elses laptop cuz mine won't work.**

**Ugh...this sucks:(**

**I really wanted to write this part since it gave some history behind Madara... and it might help you understand more...possibly**

**Hoped you liked it, please review (pretty please)**


	16. Explanations

_**With Itachi, Pein, Kisame, and Konan**_

Itachi didn't know what hit him, but he knew that he was as good as dead. The rain outside was now beating down in a bullet like manner and Itachi was now against the wall with a hand at his neck, Leader's hand to be more exact.

This was just not Itachi's day.

"How could you two let my younger sister go up against the person that has been threatening her existence since she was born," Leader seethed in a low voice, "That was not your decision to make."

Leader pressed harder against Itachi's throat, but Itachi didn't waver in the slightest, only his Sharingan swirled faster. Itachi had seen this coming the moment he came into base with Sakura in his arms. He knew how her older brother would act, and that Kisame and himself were as good as dead.

"No it was not, it was hers," was all Itachi said.

"What do you mean Uchiha?" Leader growled out.

"He means, Leader-sama, that because Sakura is your younger sister she had more authority over us at that current time. The look in hers eyes said that if we didn't leave the battle she would make us," Kisame piped in.

Leader looked back and forth between Itachi and Kisame; grip still tight on Itachi's throat. Itachi could see that cold killer intent in Leader's eyes, but he wasn't afraid for he has seen it before whenever Leader looked at Madara.

"You should've disobeyed her, especially when her safety was at risk. She has been through much pain, just as we all have in this organization, and I wanted to keep her here so that she would no longer feel that pain. So tell me why she is unconscious, and injured when two of my best members were with her?" Leader grounded out as his Rinnegan started to glow dangerously.

_**With Sakura**_

I woke up abruptly when I felt chakra spike up. As I stood up I observed that I was back at base in my room. I had a killing headache, but that was the least of my worries right now. Because I had merged with my demon I had a lot of chakra to use in that battle against Orochimaru, but now I was back to my normal reserves of chakra; which at the moment were very low from the fighting that took place.

I headed for the door because I knew whose chakra had spiked up, Pein's to be exact. The rain was also coming down harder, which gave me another hint that it was his chakra and not any of the other members.

I opened the door and sluggishly walked down the hallway with as much hast as I could conjure up with my low energy. I worked as hard as I did to get down the hall because I knew the reason why Pein's chakra would spike up so suddenly; someone had really gotten him angry.

And if my guess was right, which it usually was, Itachi and Kisame were in major trouble.

Pein's office wasn't far from my room so I made it there in a matter of minutes. I busted the door open and stumbled in to find a not so surprising scene.

Konan was watching with little emotion as Pein had Itachi against the wall with his throat, and Kisame was near the door watching, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Itachi didn't look scared of my brother, which was just like the Uchiha nature. Kisame on the other hand was indeed ready to fight but he had a morose expression on his face.

When they noticed my abrupt entrance all eyes turned to me. _Not good_, I thought.

With as much strength as I could manage I spoke in a harsh voice saying, "What the hell is going on?"

I was in no condition to try any shouting, let alone walking around (thus why I was clinging to the door for support), but I was not about to let anyone get hurt for something I did. And I had a feeling that this whole thing started with me Kisame or Itachi telling Pein about my fight with Orochimaru.

"Squirt, what are you doing up? You were out cold," Kisame spoke, while coming to my side so that I could lean on him instead of the door.

I looked up at him, thanking him with my eyes for helping me, and said, "Well my brother's chakra spiked up, and being very sensitive to chakra I woke up. And I had a feeling that you two did something stupid to make him that angry."

I looked up at my brother, who still had Itachi against the wall, put my tangled mess of hair behind my ear and gave him the _look._ This look says that if he doesn't let go of Itachi right now I will kick his ass no matter what condition I'm in.

Getting the idea Pein's grip on Itachi loosens till his hand is off Itachi's throat completely. Itachi backed off the wall and gave me the look over. The look that he gave me was that I was in no condition to be walking around and that I was a complete idiot, but it also said thank you.

Feeling a little smug that I could make the great Uchiha in a way say thank you I faced my brother who now stood in front of the three of us, still in Leader mode as I called it.

"Sakura you will tell me everything that happened in Snow Country, now start talking," Pein said a little bit more calmed down.

_**Kohona**_

Sasuke and Shikamaru were now entering the Hokage's office, both slightly irritated and worried from what Naruto could tell. Naruto and Gaara had been talking about past missions they and Sakura had done together before the two shinobi walked in.

Naruto could imagine what Gaara was feeling at the moment. Sakura was not only like a sister to him, but she was also one to Gaara. When Sakura had been assigned to teach medical nin-jutsu in Suna for three months she became closer to the three sand siblings, especially Gaara.

From what Naruto could gather Gaara had felt in debt to her when she saved his brother, Kankuro, from Sasori's deadly poisons. Gaara had tried to make her feel as welcomed in Suna as he could, and being a Kage he could do that very easily. Naruto remembered that as the two formed their strong friendship, Gaara wanted to keep Sakura in Suna as an advisor for him.

Granny Tsunade's answer was this, _"No way are you taking away my apprentice! I don't care if you're the Kazekage, she is my student and a ninja of Kohona, and it doesn't matter what you say anyways. Naruto will agree with me, for when I give my position to him he has already decided to make Sakura his adviser. Good luck trying to change his mind."_

And, of course, Gaara knew he could not make Naruto change his mind on that matter. Sakura was an amazingly smart kunochi (she could be related to the Uchiha's with all the knowledge she had) which would make and her a great adviser for him. Plus he knew Granny Tsunade would let Sakura take charge of the hospital as well when she was ready. And Gaara knew that too.

Naruto got out of his reminiscing and back to the present as Granny Tsunade spoke.

"Shikamaru, do you know why you are hear?" Tsunade inquired.

"I'm guessing that Sakura did something troublesome again?" Shikamaru asked.

"Correct, as always. And since I really don't feel like explain to Sasuke what is going on how about you do it then we can get down to business."

"What a drag," Shikamaru sighed then continued looking at a sulky Sasuke next to him, "You know how everyone has a certain summon, yours are snakes I'm guessing, Naruto's are toads, and Sakura's are slugs. The three of you all have the same summons as your teachers, but Sakura has another summon, the dragon Ryuu. It is said that only those who possess the Rinnegan can summon him, and when she first summoned him she did not develop the Rinnegan, which made us suspicious of who her family was. It all now makes since that she is the Akatsuki leader's sister."

Shikamaru was going to continue before Sasuke interrupted with a monotone voice (as always), "You aren't getting to the point of why it's so bad that she summoned this Ryuu."

"I was getting to that before you interrupted, now shut it," Shikamaru answered back, which made Naruto snicker a bit, "Anyways the last two times she summoned him she almost died, and each time she used Ryuu she was facing very powerful opponents, people like Orochimaru and Akatsuki. I think it probably almost killed her because she had not yet developed her Rinnegan, which is the key in summoning Ryuu. Now that she has the Rinnegan she has a better chance at surviving whatever she got herself into this time."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru not surprised in the slightest. He was a Nara, so of course he was the genius that found out how she didn't die all those times before. Naruto looked back at Sasuke to see him leaning against the wall, absorbing all this information. _And keeping his mouth shut,_ he thought with a laugh.

"Who do you think she was up against if she now has the strongest criminal organization on her side, Hokage-sama?" Gaara asked, hands crossed in front of his chest.

Granny Tsunade crossed her hands in front of her before she spoke, but she was interrupted by the infamous Uchiha.

"I think I might have an idea of who she was fighting."

"Hey teme what's up with you and interrupting people today?" Naruto asked, slightly annoyed.

"Shut up dobe, this is important," Sasuke shot back, "I had this feeling since Kakashi mentioned that Sakura was in trouble," he said while reaching towards his curse mark, which made Naruto nervous, "I think that I'm going to have to pay Kabuto a visit to ask how he revived Orochimaru."

"What the hell do you mean?" Naruto and Tsunade shouted in union.

_**Akatsuki HQ**_

I explained everything to Pein, how we ran into Orochimaru, when I told Itachi and Kisame to leave me, merging with my demon, summoning Ryuu, and my battle with the Orochimaru. Pein's face remained completely neutral throughout my entire story, but his ringed eyes told me something else. He was downright pissed at me for what I did, his eyes told me I was stupid, _very_ stupid, but he was glad I was alive at least. And of course Konan stayed in the corner and said nothing, just absorbed the info.

How my fight went with Orochimaru was news to Kisame and Itachi, so when I started up that part I saw that they listened intently. When I mentioned how everything went down in the fight Itachi's face remained impassive, but of course the eyes show every little emotion that he loves to hide. I could tell that he was surprised at my knowledge of wind and fire jutsus, my two nature specialties, and that he was angry at the dead snake man for hurting me. I could also tell that he was blaming himself for me getting hurt. I would have to talk to him later about that.

Kisame on the other hand was not as subtle with hiding his emotions. His eyes widened when he heard me talk about my jutsus, and his face took on that shade of purple again when I mentioned what Orochimaru did to me (which I didn't think was so bad compared to what he could've done), and I inwardly laughed a bit at his discolored skin.

When all was said and done Pein sighed and looked at me, "I want you to rest before you do any other missions. Also I want Sasori to check you out when he and Deidara get back from their mission to see if there is any other damage." I was about to tell him that my body can heal itself, plus I was a medic (a good one at that) but he stopped me and said, "Yes I know what you are capable of, but I want you to rest."

"And also I will have Hidan and Kakazu kill Ichio Kiguren. You three are dismissed," Pein said with a wave of his hand, then he added, "And I will talk to you personally tonight Sakura."

I looked back at him from my spot between Kisame and Itachi and saw that he wasn't all that angry anymore, but it was still there.

With that the three of us walked out Pein's office, Kisame and Itachi helped with taking me to my room, and they each said goodnight (Kisame with a "Night Pinky" and a ruffle of the hair, and Itachi with a simple "Goodnight").

I was tired to the bone, so I let sleep welcome me with open arms that night.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way **

**~Okay a new chapter is up and I hope you like it. I'm in Mexico right now and its bout midnight now so I hope you appreciate this! (plus I really wanted to write a new chapter **

**Review please! It makes me write faster;)**


	17. The Orange Shirt

**~IMPORTANT! READ! Okay so that we aren't confused when reading this the people at Akatsuki are at present time and the people in Kohona are at the time when Orochimaru and Sakura are fighting. In the next few chappies or so they will be on the same timeline again. Enjoy!**

_**Akatsuki HQ**_

I woke to the sound of my door opening. Rubbing my eyes and running a hand threw my long hair I looked up at my door to find Sasori. He was wearing his Akatsuki cloak and his hair looked slightly disheveled (like always), and he was looking straight at me.

"Well, looks like your finally up," he said in his monotone voice.

That sentence stuck me odd, so I sat up on my bed and asked, "What do you mean _finally_ I'm up? How long have I been asleep?"

He gave me an amused look and said, "Five or six days from what I've heard. I just got back last night from a mission with Deidara," then his face took on a more serious expression as he walked forward and shut the door, "You know that you had all of us worried. When I heard you went up against my old partner I thought the worst."

My stomach twisted uncomfortably; even here I made people worry. Back in Kohona people always worried about me because I seemed to get hurt a lot when I went on missions. I thought it was just them being overprotective, and now I guess my family is also protective.

'**Are you really surprised about that you stupid girl?' **my demon inquired from the depths of my mind.

_No, I just don't like it when people worry about me. It makes me feel bad._

'**You're too soft'** was all she said back.

I looked back up at Sasori, who was now standing in front of my bed, and I took a deep breath, "Well being out for five or six days is actually pretty good in my book. I've been out longer when I used Ryuu," then I looked downward at my hands and started to fiddle with my hair, "and I'm sorry that I had you all worried."

I thought he was going to yell at me for being stupid, but he did the exact opposite. I heard some shuffling and then a strong hand was put on my shoulder. I looked up to see Sasori staring down at me with his bangs hiding his eyes a bit, but from what I could see he wasn't mad he was happy even relived.

"Sakura, don't be upset with yourself for worrying us, it's something we all seem to do naturally for you. Just make sure that you don't fight alone when there is a big threat again," Sasori said with a serious yet morose voice, but then he started to smirk at me, "or I might just have to make your training extra hard."

When he said that I shivered a bit, his training sessions were already hard enough already and they weren't that fun sometimes either. But what he said first came back to me. I guess I was just going to have to be more careful from now on, and it really touched me that they really cared that much. With this in mind I stood up next to Sasori, my long pink locks getting slightly tangled at this action, and I hugged him tight.

When I put my arms around him he stiffened instantly. I had a feeling that it wasn't everyday that Sasori was hugged by someone, and considering that he used to have a puppet body he also wasn't used to this kind of feeling from contact with someone.

But he slowly and a little awkwardly put an arm around my waist and another one on my head. I still couldn't believe that this was the man that I had killed only three or four years ago. He was now part of my family and I loved him as someone of my family. Heck, I have come to love all the Akatsuki members as family, just when I was a child. Except Hidan, I still hate him and his cussing mouth. I think that I should find a way where he could stay dead and not come back. At this thought I started to giggle a little into Sasori's chest.

When I giggled Sasori pulled back and looked at me strangely, "Why are you laughing Blossom?"

I looked at him and smiled, "Oh nothing, just thinking of new ways to kill Hidan."

Sasori smirked and said, "Of course you are. Now I need you to lay down Blossom."

When he told me to lay down I gave him a weird look that said, _Why the hell should I do that, I'm hungry._

And when he looked at me his eyes said, _Just do it._

And then I started to remember that Pein had said that Sasori would look at me for any injuries. So I laid down knowing that Sasori wouldn't find any.

When I laid down on my bed I felt Sasori's healing chakra enter my body. I have always like the feeling of healing chakra, especially my own, when it entered my body. Healing chakra always felt warm and pleasant compared to other types of chakra.

When Sasori was done he helped me up and said, "There is no sign of any injuries, and I'm guessing that's because you already took care of them?"

"Yeah I trained my body to heal itself," I said rubbing the back of my head.

He ruffled my hair a bit and said, "Well, I'm glad you're alright. I will leave you now to do what you want, but your brother said that he will be talking with you later."

I pouted as I fixed my hair and said, "Alright thanks for letting me know. And don't touch my hair! I swear you can be just like Kisame at times," _and Naruto _I added to myself.

He frowned and said as he reached for the doorknob, "Please refrain from comparing me to that overgrown fish." And with that he left me alone in my room.

When I thought about how Sasori and Kisame messed with my hair I was painfully reminded of my best friend, Naruto. I missed him so much sometimes it hurts. Yes when I thought of my other friends like Ino, Shikamaru, Sai, and Gaara I got sad but not as sad as I was when I thought of Naruto_. _And the last I summoned Ryuu I was with Naruto and Gaara too. _ I wonder what Naruto's doing right now, _I thought, _probably eating ramen since I'm think that Tsunade told him he couldn't come after me. _

_**Kohona**_

Sasuke could sense the tense atmosphere that filled the Hokage's office, and being an Uchiha he didn't show anything that would show that he knew. No, he just kept and indifferent mask on even though he was slightly, okay not slightly but majorly freaked out on the inside.

_I thought that I killed him,_ Sasuke thought angrily, _now because of my stupid mistakes Sakura is probably in a lot of trouble or at least was. _

"What I mean is that Orochimaru is not as dead as we all thought. My curse mark has been bugging me when Kakashi mentioned that Sakura was in trouble. I thought I was just being paranoid at first but I'm starting to doubt that," Sasuke said while getting his hand off of his curse mark and instead crossed his arms.

"And what has made you changed your mind Uchiha?" Gaara asked.

"The pain has increased to the point where it is getting hard to control, which means he is either growing in power or is trouble."

"I think he's probably in trouble," Naruto piped up from Gaara's side.

"And what makes you think that Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"Well," Naruto said while taking up a serious expression, "whenever Sakura and I faced Akatsuki she always seemed to be very hesitant while fighting against the members Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, those two also seemed to hold back more than any of the other members when they fought against her. And when I would ask her about it later she said that she felt wrong fighting them, but then she told me it was nothing to worry about."

"What are you getting at Naruto?" Kakashi asked from his corner of the room.

"I'm trying to say that I think those two are the closest members with her, and considering how strong they are and how strong Sakura is Orochimaru is probably having a hard time trying to kill them."

Sasuke stood there slightly shocked. Since when did Naruto get smart enough to notice that? Sasuke thought that Naruto was still and idiot, but it now looked like he had really grown up while he was gone. _And even worse_, he thought, _Sakura is closest to my brother and his partner of all people in that damned organization, besides her brother probably_.

"That makes sense Naruto," Shikamaru said from beside Sasuke.

"Now that Orochimaru is still alive we have to be on high alert again," Tsunade mused to herself.

Gaara was about to comment until Sasuke suddenly fell to the floor in pain. Sasuke was clutching his curse mark and was grunting in pain when he hit the ground. He had felt this bad only once before, and this meant that something horrible had happened to Orochimaru.

Despite Naruto still not trusting him, he ran to Sasuke's side, got on the ground with him, and asked what was wrong.

Then suddenly the pain stopped and Sasuke stopped clutching his curse mark. Seeing this Naruto helped Sasuke up and asked what happened now.

"I think that the dobe here was actually right," Sasuke said still slightly holding onto Naruto's shoulder, "Orochimaru was in trouble."

"What happened to him Sasuke," Naruto asked again.

"I'm positive that he was killed just now, I just don't know who did it."

_**Akatsuki HQ**_

When Sasori left I went to go take a shower and collect my thoughts. When I went in I felt the hot water go down my body and make my long hair wet and heavy. I was glad that I wasn't out for three weeks like before that was just bad. And when I had finally woken up Naruto hugged me and wouldn't let go, Gaara kept telling me I was an idiot for making him worry (though I knew he meant well), and Kakashi gave me a _long_ lecture about worrying your father and how you should never do that.

These kinds of memories hurt me and I needed to put them out of my mind, but I couldn't. Though I love my Akatsuki family with all my heart I missed my family and friends in Kohona too. If my Akatsuki could give up what they were trying to do I could have both of my families. But nothing ever goes right for me.

And then there was the other problem of my brother's plan. He thought that I didn't know exactly what was going on, but I knew because I could read his thoughts. This was one of the special qualities that my Rinnegan possessed that Pein's didn't. I didn't tell anyone about it because I had a feeling that no one would trust me anymore. And I really didn't actually try to read their minds, sometimes their thoughts were just very loud (Hidan's for example) or it just happened on accident.

I knew how Pein was going to attack Kohona and what he was going to do with all the tailed beasts he got. His plan was just plain evil and I wanted nothing to do with it. But when I accidently read his mind about his plans I could sense that he was upset by them and not happy, and he was also angry as well. I knew that my brother was not an evil person at heart and I just had this inkling that he wasn't the one behind all these plans.

And I knew the others thought I trusted Tobi too when they shouted out their thoughts, but I wasn't so sure anymore. Before I went on my mission I had a weird feeling whenever I saw Tobi, I felt something dark and sinister around his mind which was a total contradiction to his happy personality. I knew that I could find out why Pein, Itachi, and Sasori didn't trust him by reading their minds…but I just can't bring myself to do it. It was a total invasion of privacy that I couldn't go against. And whenever I did feel Tobi's mind and its darkness I couldn't help but feel that he was the one who was behind the plan that my brother had in his head. And this worried me to no end.

I got out of the shower and started to dress myself into something that brought some tears to my eyes. I didn't have any of the things from my home in Kohona except for the things I always brought on missions with Naruto and Kakashi, Team 7's pictures (one with all of us and Kakashi, and the other with all of us and Sai and Yamato), an emerald necklace that Kakashi gave me, and Naruto's orange tee- shirt that smelled slightly of ramen.

The two photos were on my dresser, and I wore the small and delicate emerald on my neck at all times. But what brought tears to my eyes was the top Naruto had given me. He said that it was too small for him and he gave it to me instead of anyone else because _no one_ would ever wear that bright orange except for me. It was slightly big on me when I put it on me but it felt sung and safe on me. The ramen smell I knew would never come out (I have tried 10 times to do so, still hasn't worked yet) but it reminded me of Naruto. And the day he gave me this shirt is a day that I will never forget. It was the day that I told him my mind reading secret (before I had gotten my Rinnegan), and he is still to this very day the only one that I have told.

_Flashback_

_After a day at the hospital I went over to Naruto's place like I always did every day after work. My mind reading abilities are getting worse and I don't know how long I'm going to be able to take it. It hurts to know that I'm taking things from people's mind that I shouldn't even know about. With these thoughts I started to cry silently to myself as I walked over to Naruto's apartment_.

_And to make matters worse I don't even know why I can read minds. _This just sucks,_ I thought to myself as I wiped the tears from my eyes._

_I knocked on the doors to Naruto's apartment and he came in less than a heartbeat to the door. I smiled to myself; because to me it seemed that he waited right by the door until I got there._

"Hey Sakura-chan! I just got done eating my ramen how about you…hey are you okay?" _He asked as he pulled me into his apartment._

_When he first opened the door I felt happy because his mind was like a ball of sunshine no matter how cheesy it sounded it was. But then I cursed myself because my eyes were probably a little red from crying. And Naruto always noticed everything with me, no matter how small he just knew._

_He took me by my arm softly and put me down on his couch and then sat right next to me. _

"Sakura-chan…what's wrong did Sai say something stupid again, or did I do something to make you sad?" _Naruto asked with a sincere voice. _

_I looked up at him, and then I accidently read his thoughts, and instantly my head started to hurt. I knew that I couldn't hide it anymore and I just crashed into him and cried. Instantly, as if a reflex, he put his arms around me protectively and rubbed my back while saying soothing words to me. _

_I felt horrible for doing this to Naruto, but I couldn't help it anymore I just needed to tell someone. And maybe he could help me with it._

_After a couple of minutes I pulled back and looked up at him, and then he wiped my eyes. This made me smile a sad smile. Then I asked him, _"Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is something I have never told anyone and probably won't. Please just hear me out on what I'm going to say and then you can yell at me all you want just wait till the end please and don't tell anyone."

_He looked at me, a very soft expression in his eyes that said to go on, and that he could take it._

_I got the message, took a deep breath and said,_ "For the past month I have been able to do something horrible and I don't know how to control it. I can read the minds of others and sense the aura's of their minds kinda. I don't know how I just can, and I have looked up books in the archives to see if anyone else has had anything like this happen to them, but I can't find anything. I'm worried that I will never be able to control it, but maybe since you can control your nine-tails maybe you could help me if you don't hate me." _As I finished I put my head down and waited for what he was going to say to me, or better yet yell at me._

_But then I felt a finger under my chin, and that finger lifted my head up to look into Naruto's eyes. And his face showed nothing but a serious expression that I really couldn't comprehend. And since I was trying to suppress my mind reading thing I didn't know what he was thinking either. _

_He looked me in the eyes and said, _"How could you keep this in that long Sakura-chan? And how could you think that I would hate you and not help you? You know that you're my best friends and that I think of you as my sister, and that I would never do anything to hurt you, no I would protect and help you. I don't think that you're a horrible person; you're an amazing person that helps others. And I know that you wouldn't go into the minds of others on purpose, you're too nice for that,"_ he said with a grin._

"And I will help you in any way that I can," _Naruto continued,_ "And if there isn't a way for me to help you I find someone to help you. And I promise to keep this between you and me, believe it," _he finished while putting the hand that wasn't on my chin into a thumbs-up._

_And that's all it took for me too hug him again, except this time there were tears of joy and I was hugging him closer than ever._ "Thank you so much Naruto," _I whispered to him over and over._

_After that little episode we talked as if nothing had happened, and when I left he gave something to me._

"Sakura-chan wait here while I go get something,"_ he said as he went through his mess of an apartment to his room. I waited by the door until he busted out of his room with an orange shirt in hand._

_He gave me the shirt and said, "_This shirt is kinda small on me, but I bet it will fit you because your tiny and no one would ever wear this color," _as he made fun of my height I raised my fist to hit him but stopped and put it at my side as he mentioned the color; I knew that I was the only one who would wear such an odd color. A relived looking Naruto looked at me again to speak, but this time with a serious tone, "_I'm also giving you shirt as a reminder of our friendship, so that you'll never forget this night; so that you can remember that you come and tell me anything and I will help you. I promise. Oh and that reminds me that come back here tomorrow and I'll see what I can do about your mind reading thingy," _he finished as he rubbed the back of his head._

_I smiled at him, took the shirt, and hugged him again but not without saying this, _"Naruto, I will _never _forget this night. And thank you for being the best friend that I need. And I promise that I will always keep your shirt with me where ever I go."

_End Flashback_

We both kept our promises, he helped me get somewhat a control on reading minds and I always kept his shirt with me. And I knew that even now if I came to him and wanted help he would give me it.

With my eyes a little red from crying silently I straightened out his orange shirt and put on some mid-thigh black ninja shorts. I made sure I had my necklace on and then I went through my brother's maze to go to the kitchen.

'**You know that you're a freak right?' **my demon said

_Shut up, I'm just different._

'**Well let's see you have me a demon, the rare Rinnegan, and you can read the minds of others. That right there Saku is a freak in my book.'**

_What you say doesn't matter. I don't care about you so you know what you can just be quiet._

After that she went quiet, so I continued down the hallway.

As I walked down to the kitchen I knew that today was going to be one of my weaker days, and that I needed to keep my emotions in check so that no one would notice anything. But I also needed to distract myself somehow so that I could keep my memories of Kohona and Naruto at bay.

With these thoughts I put a smile on my face and walked into the kitchen only to be attacked my Deidara in a hug. When he crashed into me he yelled, "Sakura I was so worried, un!" and before I knew it I was encircled in his arms. Stunned I did the first thing that came to mind.

I yelled, "Get off!" and literally threw him off of me. And that throw tossed him into a wall making a Deidara-like imprint.

"I'm not paying for that," Kakuzu said as he ate his food at the table with Sasori, Itachi, Kisame, and Hidan.

"I know, Pein will," I said as I grabbed a piece of bread and sat at the table next to Kisame and Sasori to eat. The main reason I sat there out of all the empty seat (our table was pretty big) was because it was the farthest away from Hidan, and I knew that all of them noticed.

"Hey bitch why'd you sit between blue face and emotionless prick over there?" Hidan asked, or more like shouted at me.

I took a bite of my bread and said, "Will you please shut up I have a headache, I'm still tired from my fight with Orochimaru, and I'm just not having a good day right now. So shut the hell up unless you want your head at the north part of base and your body in Suna." And the reason for my headache just showed up in the form of a man with a lollipop mask.

"BLOSSOM-CHAN ARE YOU ALRIGHT!" Tobi yelled as he hugged my head which made my head hurt even more.

I sensed his chakra coming down to the kitchen which activated my ability. As soon as he walked into the room could sense the darkness coming from his mind and it was starting to hurt. Using a technique Naruto taught me I tried to block it out but it proved impossible as his darkness kept growing as he hugged my head tighter.

Wham!

And with that punch from Sasori there was another imprint in the wall next to Deidara's, who was still unconscious on the floor. I glared at Tobi as he slid down the wall and started to hold me head while sending healing chakra to it and trying to block out Tobi's dark mind.

"Sakura, are you alright," I heard Itachi say as he started at me from across the table next to Hidan.

I took my hand off my head, smiled and said, "Yeah just fine. Nothing to worry about," I said waving his worry away as if it were no big deal.

"I'm not paying for that either," Kakuzu said from the other side of Hidan as he looked at the Tobi imprint in the wall.

I glared at Sasori and said, "It wasn't my fault, it was pretty boy's over here."

"I don't look feminine," Sasori argued with me.

I laughed a bit and looked at Kisame and asked, "Oh come on, Kisame, don't you think that Sasori is too pretty to be a girl?"

Kisame patted my back and said, "I've always thought that but no one agreed with me because they are all too afraid of getting turned into a puppet. And now that I think about it there are other members here that look like girls."

I knew exactly who he was talking about and I knew he was too scared to say one of them…but I wasn't scared at all. "I know what you mean. The other two I think that look like girls are Itachi and Deidara. They both have really long hair, Itachi has the most longest eyelashes I have seen next to Sasori's, and perfect hair, while Deidara looks like a friend of mine who happens to be a girl." And it was true Deidara did remind me a lot of Ino when I thought about it.

_Damn it, _I thought, _I wasn't supposed to think of them today._

I looked at Hidan and Kisame who were laughing very hard, Kakuzu who was snickering, and Sasori and Itachi who were seething (Deidara was still sleeping on the floor so no reaction from him).

"I don't look like a women," was all Itachi said, but I could tell that he really didn't care about me going against his gender. He was still on the subject if I was alright, I didn't need to read his mind to know I could just tell from his eyes.

And Sasori just didn't say anything, as usual.

Knowing that I needed something to get my mind off of my friends in Kohona I said, "Hey I think that we need some more food, so who wants to come to the market with me?"

Kakuzu said something about to much money and Hidan said, "Not gunna happen annoying bitch." I _hated _ that word _annoying_ so much because all it did was remind me of Sasuke, and I really didn't want to think about him right now. So as soon as Hidan finished I threw him through the wall, there was not an imprint; nope I just threw him right through it. And no one said anything about that action at all.

"I'll come with ya Squirt," Kisame said as he ruffled my hair.

"I'll come as well, I need something things anyways for my puppets," Sasori said.

"Hn," Itachi said, but I knew that it meant yes.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way **

**~Yay new chapter done:D I was feeling that Sakura should have some sort of weird ability to know that who Tobi really is so that I can do some evil things in the next chapters…hehe…and I really wanted some Naruto and Sakura friendship going on here so there ya go!**

**And thank you SO much for all the reviews I love them! So Please Review and I Will Update Faster Next Time!:)**


	18. Ame

_**Ame**_

Kisame, Itachi, Sasori, and me were now walking towards the village gate of Ame. I was walking in between Itachi and Sasori while Kisame walked behind me. And to make sure that we didn't freak out the villagers with our Akatsuki cloaks I made all of them wear regular civilain clothing (but we still had our ninja gear just in case).

It was a quiet walk to the gate, which I was thankful for since of love silence. My hair was tied in a high-ponytail, and I could tell that it was starting to annoy Kisame. In Ame it is either really windy and rainy, or just really windy at rare times without the rain. So my hair kept whacking Kisame in the face, and I could sense that he was going to break the silence soon if the wind didn't die down.

"Hey, Kitten, will you please control your freakishly long hair!" he shouted behind me.

Before I could say anything the gate guards walked towards us and they were suddenly on their knees. I looked at Sasori for an explanation but he just kept looking at them, in other words I felt that I would get my explanation soon when one of the guards opened his mouth to talk.

"Sasori-sama, Itachi-sama, Kisame-sama, and young Sakura-sama what brings you ito Ame?" The first guard asked with his voice laced in respect and praise.

I had no idea how they knew we were Akatsuki, so I just looked at him strangley.

_Plus how do they know that I'm Akatsuki? I really have only been around for a month or so,_ I thought.

"We are just here to get a couple things," Itachi said from my right, "You may go back to your posts now."

The guards stood up and bowed then the second guard who I thought was somewhat familar looked at me and said, "It's good to have you back Sakura-sama." And with that htey left.

To say I was confused was a little bit of an understatement. I would have to ask Itachi or Sasori about this later. With that strange encounter we walked through the gates and headed to the market place.

I somehow knew where to go (probably my memory kicking in), so we had no trouble getting there. The only starnge thing was all the civilans and ninja alike started at us with awe and bowed at us. Some said all of our names with sama at the end showing respect. Why they gave respect and how they knew us stumped me until I thought about my brother and how he was the Kage in Ame.

_Man I'm so dense at times. How could I have forgotten that?_

**'Because my lovely vessle, you can just be an idiot sometimes.**

_Yeah I may be sometimes, but answer this demon. Why do they treat the Akatsuki with respect, hm?_

And my answer from her was silence.

We got to the market place, where we all went separate ways. Sasori went to go look for parts for his puppets, Kisame went to go look for some sake since I told him I was not going to buy any for him so he could get it himself, and Itachi stuck with me.

When everyone was gone I turned to Itachi and asked, "Is there any reason why the people here treat us like Gods? It's a little strange to me."

Itachi looked at me, smirked and said, "Well they think your brother and yourself are Gods because of your Rinnegans. They see the rest of us Akatsuki as the protecters of their villiage since we keep danger away from here. This is our only home after all."

I looked at him with a sad expression. He was right when he said that this was their only home because they had left there other villages and were criminals. What surprised me though was that they thought of me and my brother as Gods.

"I understand how they would know Pein...but how would they know me and think of me as some sort of God? I mean really I'm not that godly," I said as we reached a small fish shop where a young man a few years older than me was working.

The young man working at the shop had messy brown hair, tan skin, and hazel eyes that had a kind undertone to them. As we entered the shop the young man looked at us and bowed while muttering under his breath, "Itachi-sama, Sakura-sama what can I do for you?"

I smiled at the young man and asked if he could give us some samlon and crab. He bowed again and said, "Of course Sakura-sama."

When he went to go get the fish I looked back at Itachi wating for an answer to my earlier question. When he sensed my gaze he looked back down at me and said, "Sakura, when you were here as a child you loved to come to this village almost everyday. The people here remember you and your kindness that was different from your brother's direct attitude. And they thought of you as a God because when ever you came to the village your brother accompanied you and he showed his human and brotherly side instead of his Kage side. They were all amazed by it."

I swear I should ask Itachi more question more often, he never ever talked this much before. Then I thought about what he said, and then I started to remember my time in the village when I was younger. And from what I was remebering what he said was true in a way I guess.

Then Itachi put his strong hand on my shoulder and said, "You seem to have that affect on a lot of people, inculding the members of Akatsuki, who you refer to as your family."

I smiled up at him and said, "Well yeah you guys did kinda help raise me, and I will always think of each one of you as family," then I smirked and said, "except Hidan, he can get thrown threw a wall everyday for all I care."

He smirked at me, keeping his hand on my shoulder as the young boy came back with the fish/seafood. I knew that I could only get those kinda of seafood because Kisame refused to eat any other kind.

"Here is your food Sakura-sama," the young man said with a small blush on his face.

I took it, smiled back at him (I seem to be smiling a lot, guess this trip to the market was a good idea) and said, "Thank you."

Itachi must of noticed the small blush on the boys face because as soon as I got the seafood Itachi dragged me out of there. I looked up at him and pouted.

"You know I think I was right about you guys being my family, since when a perfectly fine guy suddenly blushes at me you get all overprotective. And I have an inkling that the rest of you guys would do the same thing you just did except some may growl, glare like how you did, or smack the poor kid on the head. And you know that I'm right."

He smirked and said, "Well we all do care about you very much Sakura. We lost you once and we want to keep you safe." He then took his hand off of my shoulder and he headed down to a vegetable and fruit shop.

What he said made my teasing mood go away and replace it with a morose one. Those were pretty close to the words Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Naruto always said to me when I got back from a mission hurt. They were the three that were the most protective of me in Kohona, so they always watched me like a hawk. Even when I boy tried to ask me out they would chase him off making me kick them across the village. And Gaara was no exception to that overproteciveness either.

Whenever I got hurt really bad on a mission Gaara would make the person who hurt me die a very slow and painful death. Gaara had always been very sweet and gentle with me, but as soon as my saftey was at risk he went all out on the person that endangered my safety.

I must of had a sad expression on my face for Itachi to stop walking and look down at me. "What's wrong Sakura? You have been sad since this morning, and I will not taking "it's nothing" as an answer. Talk." Itachi said in a gentle voice but had a demanding undertone to it. His eyes hard as stone, so I decided to go to his mind.

I reached out to touch his mind slightly to see that he was very concerned about my depressed attitude this morning and he would not let it go till he got a straight answer.

I sighed and said in a quiet voice, "I'm just missing my friends in Kohona. All of you remind me so much of them, but your still so different. Don't get me wrong, I love you guys, but I also love them too. So it just gets difficult sometimes, but it's really nothing to worry about Itachi." I finished waving a hand in front of my face.

Itachi looked at me intently, though this time his eyes showed something that looked like undertsanding. Of course he understood what it was like to leave you home, even though he did because he killed his clan (something I still believed that he didn't want to do, I thought that there was something fishy behind the whole thing).

"Sakura it is all right to miss your friends, but don't let it make you depressed." With that short answer we started to walk again and went into the vetetable and fruit shop.

I went in with Itachi beside me and got what I needed. I had memorized what everyone liked and disliked so I knew that when we got back everyone would be happy with the food we brought back.

I only had a few more stops to go to, I needed meat, noodles, and bread, and I was about to enter the shop that sold noodles till I sensed an all too familiar chakra signature coming from beihind Itachi and me.

We both turned around to see Deidara walking up too us, in his civilian clothes, with a slightly irritated look on his face. I giggled a little bit from Itachi's side because I thought that he was still angry about getting thrown at a wall. Itachi had my same thoughts as he smirked at me.

Deidara walked up to us and said in a loud voice, "Why the hell did you throw me at a wall, un?"

I looked at him and said, "You surpised me is all, and stop whining I didn't even put in any chakra into that throw." With that me and Itachi walked into the shop to go get the noodles.

But Deidara still followed us in.

I looked back at him and asked, "Couldn't your question have waited till I got back to base?"

A little bit calmed down Deidara said, "Well yeah, un, but I thought that you might need some help or something, un."

Itachi looked up at him while I looked for the right noodles that I wanted (I was very serious about my noodles) and he said, "Didn't you already know that Kisame, Sasori, and myself were with her you dunce?"

Deidara fumed and shouted, "I did, un! But I also had to get away from that idiot Tobi, un. An I'm not a _dunce."_ He said in a low voice.

At the mention of Tobi's name i tensed a bit, which I had a feeling that it didn't go unnoticed from Itachi. I was still warry about Tobi and his dark mind, I just didn't like it at all. Plus it gave me the creeps.

I grabbed the noodles I needed and went to go pay for them to this nice old lady at the counter.

"Did you find everything that you needed Sakura-sama?" the old lady inquired.

I smiled and said, "Yup, and thanks for asking."

I gave her my money and she said, "You welcome Sakura-sama, and thank you as well. If it's not too much to ask may you also tell Deidara-sama and Itachi-sama thank you as well for coming to my shop?"

"Of course, thats not a problem at all."

She smiled at me, bowed and told me to have a nice day. I walked back to Itachi and Deidara and told them what the old lady said to them. They said that it was no big deal and we went out of the shop.

Deidara decided to tag along as Itachi and I went to get everything that we needed. When we were done I felt a little raindrop hit my head, so I transported all the food back to base and looked at Itachi and Deidara.

"How about we go to find Sasori and Kisame, then we can go back to base?" I asked. Both nodded, and with that we jumped onto the roofs and went to find the two Akatsuki members.

As it started to rain harder it got a little hard to jump on the roofs, but I enjoyed the rain. My hair was now dripping from it's ponytail and my black clothes were sticking to my body, but I didn't mind.

I turned on my Rinnegan so that I was able to find Kisame and Sasori faster. I thought I sensed Sasori's chakra signature down at another shop complex, so I headed down there.

I landed on the ground, with my Rinnegan still on, and looked around until I heard a screech behind me. I whipped around to find a little boy with black hair and purple eyes cowering in a corner with a man that stood above him, with a kunai in his hand aimed at the little boy.

Without a second thought I unsheathed my katana (thanking Kisame for telling me to bring it), and stood in front of the little boy just as the kunai left the man's hand.

To say I was pissed off was and understatement. I never saw the reason why full grown men saw fit to bully and injure kids. It wasn't right and I hated it. I could feel my Rinnegan buring in my eyes, but I ignored it protecting this little boy was more important to me.

"Why the hell are you defending the that wrechted kid lady?" The man shouted at me.

_He probably doesn't know who I am because I'm in the shadows, _I thought.

"Why the hell are _you_ attacking a poor innocent kid?" I shot back, keeping the anger barely out of my voice.

"Innocent? That kid steals from shop everyday and sleeps right outside of it, making customers not come in. I have had about enough of this kid and you, lady, haven't answered my question yet," he shouted. I could see that people were now watching us as I looked around us. Looking around was a mistake, because the man took that oppertunity to throw a senbon at me, grazing my cheek slightly.

I kept my anger in check, looked behind me to see if the boy was alright, and took a step out of the shadows while saying, "Pull."

The man was pulled towards me and everyone watching gasped at relizing who I was, I guess the pink hair and Rinnegan gave me away. There were murrmers of "Sakura-sama" from the people as I glared at the man in fron of me that was suspended in the air.

"S-Sakura-sama, I-I had no idea t-that it was you-" the man stampered, but I cut him off.

"I will not hurt you, but you better sure as hell better not hurt that kid or any other kid for that matter. Do I make myself clear?" I asked, feeling kinda superior at the moment.

"Y-yes, yes of course. W-what ever you say S-Sakura-sama," he whimpered then I let him go. He dropped to the ground and bowed down at me.

I left him there, turned off my Rinnegan and looked at the little boy still behind me looking at me in amazement.

I walked over to him, crouched down to his level and said, "Are you alright kid?"

He looked at me and grinned, "Of course I am Sakura-sama, thanks to you," then he looked at my cheek in worry, "but are you alright Sakura-sama?"

I wipped my cheek to see that it was still bleeding, looked at the boy and smiled, "I'm fine, don't worry. Do you have any parents that I can take you too?"

He looked down with a sad expression on his face and said, "My parents were killed three years ago, I'm alone."

I felt something pull at my heart, this kid just reminded me of Naruto, so I reached into my pouch on my hip and pulled out some money. I took the boys hand opened it and said, "Well, so you don't have to steal anymore here is some money that will last you for a couple months. I will come back to give you more when you need it okay? Oh, and what's your name?"

He took the money, smiled at me and said, "My name is Ichigo Sato, and thank you so much Sakura-sama!" Then he hugged me. A little startled I tapped his back and then stood up once he got off. I waved good bye and went to go look for Sasori again.

_**Kohona**_

It had been two weeks since it had been declared that Orochimaru was dead. Naruto knew for sure that he was dead because Naruto, Sasuke (Naruto still had to watch him), and Kakashi went up to Snow Country to where Sasuke had felt where Orochimaru had died.

By seeing the giante crater and flower petals scattered about Naruto and Kakashi confirmed that it was Sakura who fought and killed Orochimaru. Naruto remembered the shocked look on Sasuke's face when he found out who had killed him and caused so much damage. His expression still made Naruto laugh.

At the moment Naruto was at his favorite ramen stand with Sasuke and Shikamaru. Sasuke had slowly been getting Naruto's trust back, but he little luck with the others. No matter how many times Sasuke told them that everything he did was an act no one believed him.

Naruto slurpped his third bowl of ramen, looked at Shikamaru and asked with a grin, "So has Gaara finally left since his village didn't know that he was here?"

"Yes he has, but he is intent on fiding some way to get Sakura back," Shikamaru answered.

"He's not the only one," Sasuke said from in between them.

Naruto knew that Sasuke wanted to get Sakura back just as much as he did, especially because she was with her brother. Naruto wasn't sure if Sasuke still wanted to kill his older brother, but Naruto knew he would never get the chance too if Sakura protected him from Sasuke. Plus Naruto was still skeptical about Itachi and the Uchiha Massacre.

Sakura said that she was looking through alod mission scrolls when she found one that said 'TOP SECRET: UCHIHA'. Sakura had gotten a strange vibe from it, and Naruto knew that those vibes were usualy dead on. Sakura didn't get to read it, because someone had walked in the room as she was about to read it, so Naruto knew that he had to see that scroll. Plus being Naruto, he just wanted to do something that would get him in trouble.

And he knew that Sasuke would want to see them too.

So he asked with a cheeky grin, "Hey Shikamaru, since your good at getting into places your not supposed to be in, how would you get into the archives without being noticed?"

Shikamaru raised and eyebrow and asked, "I'm guessing you want to get in there for something troublesome...what is it you need?"

Naruto could see that Sasuke had stopped eating his ramen and was now also looking at Naruto with questioning eyes.

Naruto's expression became serious as he said, "Sakura found a scroll in there that was suspious i guess...and I need to find it. She told me before our last mission that she thought it was very important."

Shikamaru looked at him undertanding and told him ways to get in and out of there quickly without getting noticed.

"I'm coming with you," Sasuke said as soon as Shikamaru was done telling Naruto what to do. Naruto looked at Sasuke, whose eyes held no room for argument, and then he said, "Okay, you can come but just don't get angry when we read the scroll."

_**On the way to Akatsuki HQ**_

"I still can't believe that that idiot cut you on the face! Once I find him he's going to..." Kisame ranted for the fifth time about that guy cutting my cheek, which I thought wasn't such a big deal.

When I finally found Sasori he was with the others, and when the asked why my cheek was bleeding I told them what happened. Deidara and Kisame voiced their angry opinions loud (and they still were), while Itachi and Sasori seethed silently.

"You guys it's not a big deal, plus I got to help out a little kid. So please shut up before I throw you guys to Suna," I said while cracking my knuckles as we jumped in the trees. Kisame and Deidara gulped and shutted up, because they knew that I was very capable of doing what I threatened.

"Why did you even help that child?" Sasori asked, curiosity laced his voice while his face still looke indifferent.

"He reminded me of a friend, and a child should never be put in his postion," was all I said. Sasori nodded and we headed further into the forest. As we jumped my body was already at work at healing the small cut on my face.

When we got to base I wen to go into the kitchen, where I had transported all the food, but I was surprised to find nothing there.

"I put them away before they went bad," a calm voice said from behind me. I looked at the source of the voice to find Konan standing there with a soft smile on her face.

"Oh thanks Konan," I said rubbing the back of my head.

"Your brother would also like to see now," she said then turned around for me to follow her.

I remebered that Sasori said this morning that Pein had wanted to talk to me. I sulked a bit as I walked behind Konan, knowing that he was going to chew me out for being stupid and such. But I did have some questions of my own to ask him so maybe talking to him right now wasn't that bad.

We entered a garden, I think it was Zetsu's, and Konan left. The garden was filled with many different plants and flowers, all together it was queit beautiful. I knew my brother wasn't here yet so I sat down on a spot of grass under a cherryblossom tree. While I was sitting there the rain had stopped so I did a minor fire jutsu to dry off my clothing, but i left my hair wet. Didn't want my lovely pinks locks to catch on fire now did we?

I closed my eyes until I sensed someone sit down next to me. I opened one eye to see that Pein was next to smirking. I sent him my own smirk as I sat up more and opened both eyes.

"I think that you know what I want to talk to you about Sakura," Pein said in a voice that held emotion that he would use only around me.

I sighed and said, "Yeah I know what I did was stupid, but in my defense Orochimaru was very sick at the time and I had a feeling that I could beat him."

He gave me a serious look and said, "Well you should've let Itachi and Kismae help you. I sent them there to make sure nothing happened to you. I can't lose you again like how we lost our parents," he finished looking at the ground.

I felt a pain in my chest as a memory came back to me of our parents being killed in front of our eyes. I took Pein's hand, squeezed it and said, "I won't dissapear, as long as you don't die on me Pein."

He squeezed my hand back, looked up at me and said, "Like I said before, I will make sure that we are never split up again as long as I live."

I smiled at him and leaned onto his shoulder and asked, "You know I have always wondered what my real last name was since I now know that it was never Haruno...so what's our surname?"

He ruffled my hair, and put his arm around my shoulder pulling me closer. Then he said, "Our surname is Kuroyoi."

"So our surname means Black Night...great!" I said with a little snicker. The name was perfect for Pein, but not so much me.

"Now I have a couple of questions for you Blossom," Pein's low voice asked.

"Shoot," I said back.

"For one how was your time at the village?"

I told him about the people ther and how they acted and about going to the market, though I left the part out about that man and Ichigo out. I didn't want Pein to go around killing someone for something as stupid as hurting me.

"Well it seems that they all remeber you well, as I expected. Now for my other question," He let me go and I looked up at him, he now had a somewhat serious expression on his face, "I cannot rule both Akatsuki and Ame alone, so would you be my partner, or co-Kage, in leading Ame?"

I looked at him with a surprised look. Well I wasn't expecting that. But as I thought about it I thought maybe I would be able to help Ichigo and other kids like him and get them off the street. The way that man treated him just reminded me of Naruto so much I just knew that I had to help.

So I said, "Of course I will! Now I guess you won't have as much paperwork to do now huh?"

He laughed a low laugh gave me a small hug, while saying, "Thank you Blossom."

I giggled a bit and hugged him back, but I had this strange feeling in the back of my mind that someone was watching us.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way**

**~Just so you all know KOHONA IS NOW ON THE SAME TIMELINE AGAIN. okay now that that is done I want to thank all of you who reviewed and are following the story, you guys are great!**

**I would also like to thank Ebeth and Liz for giving me some ideas for up and coming chapters.**

**Hoped you enjoyed it and Please REVIEW!:)**


	19. Tobi's Real Self

I was starting to regret my decision when I said that I would be Pein's co-Kage.

At the moment right now I was in the Kage building in Ame doing…mounds of paperwork. Pein had said that he needed help and I could see why. Akatsuki had paperwork, and being a Kage too was a lot of responsibility, so I was more than happy to help my brother at the time. But now I think that he set me up and that he was laughing at me back at the Akatsuki base.

I have to admit that there were some perks to being a Kage though. I was able to see the people of Ame a lot, especially Ichigo and other kids like him. I was able to help them find a place to stay and I gave them money for things that they needed. I felt great know that I was needed and I was helping people that needed it.

And the Kage robes weren't bad either if I do say so myself. They were like all the Kage robes except they were white and silver with the kanji symbol for rain on the hat. I usually didn't wear the hat that often and I kept my robes open so that I didn't have to cover up all the time (usually I wore fishnet shirts under my robes). When the Akatsuki saw me in the robe they either smirked, all out laughed, or had a proud look on their faces. Let's just say those that laughed at me ended up through at least four walls in the base (Kakuzu wasn't very happy about having to pay for the damage). Pein, Itachi, and Sasori were the ones with proud looks on their faces.

All three of them had the same thoughts when I read their minds slightly; _She grew up without us knowing just how fast she would. _

Anyways I just finished my half of the paperwork leaving the rest for Pein to do, so I walked out of our shared office and went to walk through the streets, with my hat off and robe open to reveal a red tube top with a long-sleeved fishnet top over that and black ninja shorts to top it off. As I walked down the street I was greeted with the usual _sama _after my name, then I smiled back at them. As I entered part of the slums I saw Ichigo playing with some of his friends, so I left him alone I figured that I would visit him later.

Then I clutched my head in pain.

There was that dark mind again, the one I couldn't get away from, the one that made me feel as if I was suffocating, and the one that was constantly growing darker. I knew who it was as soon as I heard the "Sakura-chan!" behind me. As soon as I heard that I high-tailed out of there in a swirl of cherry blossom petals.

When the flurry of pink left my face I was in the Akatsuki base's living room staring at Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori. Kisame and Deidara had looks of surprise on their faces, and Sasori and Itachi had looks of slight alarm as they noticed that I was on edge and still clutching my head.

The pain subsided so I took my hand off my head and said, "Hey how's it going?"

"Blossom, you look as if you have just seen a ghost," Sasori inquired, while studying my face closely.

I waved my hands in front of me and said, "Oh that's nothing to be worried about I just…um…ran into someone that I really didn't want to see."

Kisame laughed, "And I'm guessing this person is Tobi?"

The reason why they knew who I was avoiding was because I had tried to steer clear of Tobi whenever I saw him, and being Akatsuki they all noticed. When Tobi tried to hug me I tossed him through another wall, when Tobi was in a room I wasn't there, you know just trying to not see him. His overbearing dark mind was constantly on my nerves since I couldn't block it out.

But what really freaked me out the most was that when I saw his mind I saw images of the Uchiha massacre. That didn't exactly sit well with me.

"Yeah, un, what's up with you and the idiot? You've been avoiding him like the plague, not that I blame you, un," Deidara said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Well...um…I just rather not be around him at the moment," I said, then I thought of something that might get them to stop asking questions, "when he is around he tends to make my demon act up and stuff and it gets hard to push her down sometimes."

With that I moved toward them and sat in between Itachi and Sasori, and from the looks on their faces they could tell that I was lying through my teeth and that I would have to have a talk with them later.

_I swear these guys are just too damn protective of me sometimes,_ I thought, as I sweat dropped.

"So how was your day at the village?" Kisame asked from the chair across from me.

"Besides all the paperwork that Pein made me do, nothing much happened. Just a regular day, though I would really like it if I got some missions or something so that I could blow off steam," I replied.

"Don't you blow off enough steam when training with Itachi and myself?" Sasori's bored voice asked, but of course there was that ever-knowing smirk.

I shivered besides them and said, "I still think you too are trying to kill me! I mean I think half of the time that you are worse than when Tsunade trained me."

"Yes, well, you are certainly getting better," Itachi said from my right side.

"That is true," Sasori said while ruffling my hair.

_**Kohona**_

Sasuke and Naruto were currently sneaking into the archives in the dead of the night through one of the secret passages that Shikamaru told them about.

Sasuke insisted that Naruto would have to wear something stealthier if they didn't want to get caught. Wearing a bright orange jumpsuit wasn't exactly subtle when sneaking into a high-profile facility. Naruto thought it was a bunch of bull, but he wore all black like Sasuke anyways since he had experience with breaking into places and not getting caught.

_Wow,_ Naruto thought, _my friends are all criminals in a weird way. Sakura-chan is with the Akatsuki and Sasuke is like a trained assassin. And I'm loud and rash. I guess that's Team 7 for ya. _

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts as Sasuke nudged him forward seeing that he wasn't going to move on his own. They kept going down the underground passage till they reached a dead end. Sasuke put a finger in front of his mouth, since he knew Naruto had a loud mouth, and pointed upward towards a trap like door.

Naruto being the taller of the two reached up to push up the door open very slowly, only cracking it open slightly to see if it was safe. Naruto looked around and saw that no one was there, so he pushed up the door all the way and set it silently on the floor. Seeing Naruto go through the door Sasuke jumped up, and landed with a slight creak on the floorboards.

Naruto and Sasuke tip-toed to the spot that Sakura had described to Naruto; in the back; where it was dusty, and was the darkest corner of the room. Why Sakura even went back there was beyond Naruto, he just thought that her curiosity got the better of her.

As they edged to the back corner of the room Naruto heard the door opening. He grabbed Sasuke and hid behind a stack of scrolls as two guards came in. Naruto and Sasuke looked around the corner of the stack, hide their chakra, and listened to the guards talk.

"Yeah a real shame isn't it? I never thought she would actually be related to those monsters," the guard with the silver hair said.

"Well, Sakura-san always held back against fighting against them…did you hear about Ame?" the guard with the red hair asked.

At the mention of Sakura's name both boys perked up a bit more so they could hear better, but neither were happy to hear that she had been called a monster in a way.

"Yeah, isn't she a Kage there now? From what I've heard from our spies she is co-Kage with her brother. But I think I figured out how she is related to that God forsaken group," the silver haired one said.

The red haired one put the stack of scrolls that he brought in on a table and asked, "What do you mean, I was on her ANBU squad and I can't find one thing about her that is anything like Akatsuki."

"You mean you never knew that she had the Rinnegan?" the silver haired one exclaimed, "That thing just comes to show you that she should've never been trusted in the first place. That Rinnegan causes nothing but trouble and only those who have evil intentions get that. That should've been our first sign not to trust her."

"But, wait, have you not heard everything that she has done in Ame?" the red haired one protested, "She's making it better according to our spies, it's not exactly a hellhole anymore. Plus Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-san, and Naruto-san trust her. Oh, and so does the Kazekage."

"The only reason that Tsunade-sama trusts her is because she is her apprentice, and the reason that Kakashi-san trusts her is because she is his adopted daughter. Naruto-san and Kazekage-sama trust her because they believe her to be a friend," the silver haired one said, then they started to walk out the door but not without the silver one saying, "Who would trust that kyuubi anyways?" And with that the door was shut.

What the two friends just overheard was received with mixed feelings. They were angry at the silver one the most for making Sakura look like a horrible person ad Naruto and untrustworthy person. But they both were happy to hear that Sakura was the co-Kage in Ame and was making it better, it made them feel proud of her. But they still wanted her back.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged their feelings with just eye contact, they nodded at each other and went to the back corner.

"Ok," Naruto said whispering, "Sakura-chan said the scroll had a paper attached to it that said 'TOP SECRET: UCHIHA' and the color of the scroll was a weird black one with silver writing. Usually those are the ones that are missions for ANBU, Sakura would know."

Sasuke nodded and they started to look through all of the scrolls, looking for any that would fit Sakura's description. It was not that big of an area to take too long to find the scrolls, it was a corner after all, but it sure was dusty that every once in a while Naruto sneezed and Sasuke would say, "Dobe" which earned Sasuke a hard glare from Naruto.

They had been searching for ten minutes until Naruto found the scroll they were looking for.

Sasuke handed Naruto a blank black scroll and Naruto attached the piece of paper on the fake scroll and put it back where they found the real scroll.

Sasuke now had the scroll in his hands and Naruto knew that he was just itching to read it, but before Sasuke could open it Naruto said, "Sasuke, we'll open it when we're with Sai and Shikamaru. If it's in some code they will know what it says, so wait until we see them tomorrow, kay?"

Sasuke gave the scroll one last look before putting in his thigh pouch.

With that they silently went to the trapdoor and jumped down it, and there was no trace that anyone had even entered the room. Why do you think they are called ninja?

_**Akatsuki HQ**_

I felt some tugging at my head as I woke up. I was still on the couch except Itachi and Sasori were gone, and I came to the conclusion that I must've fallen asleep. And the reason I was know up from my lovely slumber was two idiots pulling at my hair.

Kisame and Deidara were on either side of my head and, dear kami, they were _braiding _my long pink locks. To say I was creeped out was an understatement.

"Why are you two waking me up with _braiding my hair_," I seethed in a low and dangerous voice.

"I'm creating art out of your hair, un. Don't worry I won't blow it up," Deidara said with a smile.

I turned my eyes to Kisame and said, "Well what's your excuse?"

"Um…well…I just…um…wanted to help Deidara out since he couldn't do both sides all on his own," Kisame stuttered as he looked at my sullen face.

A known fact around here is that _no one_ touches my hair. I thought it was just creepy for people to touch my hair for no reason and comment on why it was naturally pink; it annoyed the hell out of me. And to why Kisame actually wanted to braid my hair was beyond me.

I gave them a sickly sweet smile, turned my Rinnegan on for more effect, and said, "If you two want to live let go of my hair right now, back away, and _never ever_ mess with my hair while I'm asleep again, got it?"

They both visibly shivered and ran the hell out of there. I smirk to myself and started to unbraid my hair, I never really did like braids anyways. When it was all undone I put it on top of my head in a messy bun and put a red senbon in to keep it in place. Anyways it was always handy to have a senbon handy when you live in a place full of crazy people, it's just a precaution.

I walked down the hallway to see Konan walking towards me.

_Pein must want to see me again,_ I thought.

But I was wrong because when she came up to me she smiled and said, "Sakura can we go take a walk in the garden and talk?"

I nodded and said, "Sounds good."

We walked out to the gardens and looked at each other waiting for someone to say something. The thing is that Konan and me never really talked that much beyond simple greetings, so I was a little surprised when she wanted to talk to me.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" I asked, breaking the ice.

"Well I guess I just wanted to see if you were alright? You seem to be on edge around base, as if your avoiding someone. I just wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong," Konan said, eyes filled with concern.

I put my hand behind my head and said, "I'm fine, but you were right I am avoiding someone," I knew I could trust her so I went on, "there is just something off with Tobi, and I know that I'm not the only one who feels is. Sasori, Itachi, and Pein all avoid him; they don't like him. He just has this dark air around him that I don't like."

Konan gave me a knowing look as we walked further into the garden and she said, "Tobi may seem like a harmless child but he is the most dangerous in this entire organization. I understand why you wouldn't trust him, and in time I'm sure that you brother will tell you the truth about him."

_The truth about Tobi? _I thought to myself.

'**She is obviously trying to say that Tobi is not who he says he is, vessel'**

_I have a name you know,_ I thought back irritated.

I nodded, when suddenly a new thought popped up in my head and I asked her, "Hey, off topic but why does my brother have so many piercings? I have asked him about it before and he just smirked at me the jerk," I pouted.

She chuckled a bit and said, "It has something to do with him and keeping his chakra in check, why you want one?"

I thought about for a moment and said, "Actually yeah that would be pretty cool," then I sobered up a bit and said, "Kakashi would never let me get anything like that so I guess this would be my only opportunity."

Konan smiled at me and took my hand and before I knew it my body started to turn into pieces of paper along with Konan's body.

When I opened my eyes again I saw that I was in Pein's office, still at base. Pein looked up, not surprised at all at our abrupt entrance and asked, "What is it that you girls want?"

Then he stood from his desk came over to us and smirked.

"Sakura here was wondering if she could possibly get some of your piercings," Konan said.

Pein turned towards me and gave me a questioning look. "Well only in the ears, not on the face please Pein," I said.

He smiled down at me, took my hand and said, "Only if you let me pick what kinds."

And with that he gave me two piercings in each ear, and in my opinion I looked pretty badass like my brother in these.

"Oh and I never got to give you this, but since you're here…" Pein said as he went into his robe and pulled out an Akatsuki ring. It was silver with the kanji symbol for wind.

"Put it on your index finger, " he said before giving me the ring. I followed his instructions and put the ring on, thinking of how the symbol reminded me of Naruto.

"Thanks," I said as I went up on my tip-toes and patted the top of his head.

He gave me a playful glare and said, "You of all people should know that we Kuroyoi's don't like our hair touched."

I nodded at him and then said, "Like brother like sister, see you later Pein, Konan."

And with that I left his office to go to outside in the rain. Rain has always helped me clear my thoughts, so I thought it would be best to go out there and just sit in a tree and watch the rain fall.

When I got outside I went to go sit in a tree and watch the rain, until I felt as if I was suffocating.

I looked around for Tobi because I knew it was him, his mind was always easy to distinguish.

_This isn't good I need to-,_ I thought. But I was cut short as someone's hand curled around my throat.

Now I was really suffocating, and the cause of my discomfort was Tobi with his stupid orange mask. I tried to get his hands off of my throat, but he was stronger than me. Konan was right, Tobi wasn't a child and his change in voice proved what she said as well.

"Why have you been avoiding me Saku-chan," He said in a sly and deep voice.

_Well looks like Tobi hit puberty finally,_ I thought with a slight smile.

I couldn't answer him because of his hand on my throat, all I could do was gasp for breath. This was like the time when Gaara had trapped me in his sand when I was younger.

"Oh that's right you can't talk, excuse me where are my manners?" he said with a dark chuckle.

His grip on my throat lessened a bit, and I got a glimpse at his eye; it was a Sharingan. This wasn't good.

"Who are you really?" I asked still slightly out of breath as his hand never really left my throat.

He came up to my ear and whispered, "Why don't you read my mind dear Sakura?"

I started a bit, how could he know that, the only person I have ever told was Naruto. But I took up his suggestion and searched his mind. And what I saw was horrible.

I saw the Uchiha massacre, him making a deal with Danzo to make Itachi kill his clan, him killing hundreds of innocents, him taking his brothers eyes, and him threatening Itachi with his brother.

There were many more images that I couldn't take it was just too much dark darkness. So I screamed.

I think my scream could've been heard all over the base it was so loud.

Madara Uchiha, I now knew who he was, looked at me with lust burning in his eye and said, still next to my ear, "Do you understand now? I need you and Itachi to help me get revenge, and you_ will _help me."

"Let her go now."

I looked behind Madara and saw the person I knew that would help me. Itachi.

"Oh look both of my possessions are with me, I think that it is time that we leave this place and go make our plans," Madara said finally letting go of my throat.

I put my hands on the tree branch and started to cough hard, and in a second Itachi was by my side helping me up and standing slightly in front of me protectively. I looked up at him to see his Mangekyou Sharingan spinning dangerously. I also felt my Rinnegan activate on its own.

Itachi kept his arm around me as he gave Madara a venomous glare. If looks could kill I would say that Madara had been burned 100's of times over and over.

"Neither of us belongs to you. Get that through your head," Itachi grounded out.

"If I can't get either of you I will go and take Sasuke from Kohona, remember that Itachi?" Madara said.

I glared at him full on, still being supported by Itachi and yelled, "What the hell are you talking about! Sasuke is a rogue; he hates Kohona and especially Naruto and me, he would never go back there."

"Oh you didn't know? Apparently everything he did was an act, who knew," Madara said shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't touch him or Sakura for that matter. They have nothing to do with you." Itachi said.

"That is where you are wrong Itachi. I need both the Sharingan and Rinnegan for my plan to pull through, and since Sakura is easier to get than Pein she has to come with me either way. I just need you or your brother it doesn't matter to me who."

"Sorry but neither of us are coming with you, you bastard," I said as I threw a kunai at him to distract him, knowing full well that it would just go through him. With him focused on phasing is body I transported Itachi and myself to Pein's office in a swirl of cherry blossoms.

When we got there I started to collapse but Itachi caught me before I could fall to the ground. He once again kept a firm arm around my waist and said, "Are you alright Sakura?"

I smiled and said, "Just peachy."

"What is going on?"

Itachi turned us around to face Pein, who looked like he was pissed off.

"Madara has made his move," was all Itachi said before I blacked out in his arms.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**

**So what did ya think? I was getting bored so I decided to make Madara known. And of course we had to have some humor in there with the braiding of the hair.**

**And aren't Sasuke and Naruto two sneaky little guys?**

**I would like to thank all of those who reviewed and once again Ebeth and Lizzie for giving me the idea for the humor in this one.**

**Please Review, or Pein will take your soul **


	20. Finding and Telling the Truth

I woke to a blurring green forest passing me by. My emerald eyes fluttered open a bit to look at my surroundings so I could see where the hell I was. I looked in front of me to see a mess of spiky orange hair, knowing immediately that it was Pein, and I saw that I was on his back and that his arms were supporting my legs. Then I turned my sight to behind me to see Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara, and Konan following close behind.

"Good, you're up," Pein said in a solemn voice, but it had hints of relief in it.

I took it that he wasn't going to let me down to run beside him so I just said, "Um…what happened, where are we going, and why am I on your back Pein?"

I felt him stiffen from under me as we jumped off another branch. Then Pein said in a low voice, "Madara attacked us to get you and Itachi, but we got away with a few injuries. Just in case this ever happened Konan and I put everything everyone would need in scrolls and transported them to our office in Ame. So that means we are on our way to Ame, and to the reason why you are on my back is because when Madara caught you at first outside he drained more than half of your chakra."

I wasn't really surprised about Madara attacking base so I guess that it was expected that we take refuge in our village. Then I checked my chakra levels to see that Pein was right, a good chunk of my chakra had been drained.

_Damn him! I didn't even notice him doing it danmit! _I thought.

'**He did it when you were reading his mind vessel,' **my demon thought back to me.

_And why didn't you say anything? _I practically shouted at her in my head.

'**I didn't see a need to.'**

Deciding not to talk to my demon I settled to answer Pein and said, "Well what's the plan now since base is, for obvious reasons, not safe."

"We will talk it over when we all get to Ame," Pein said from under me.

While I focused on getting my chakra levels up I looked behind me to see that the others had caught up to us and where now on either side of us, Itachi and Kisame to my right, Sasori and Deidara on my left, and Konan behind them. But, I couldn't help but notice that something was missing on Deidara.

"Hey Deidara," I said and he looked my way, "where the hell is your arm?"

His face instantly turned red and he yelled, "That damn To- I mean Madara cut off my arm when I tried to blow him up, un!"

I could tell he was still fuming so I decided to talk to Sasori for my next question, "And where are the others, not that I would like Hidan to be here."

He looked at me with bored eyes and said, "Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu are traitors. They are fighting on Madara's side."

I nodded back at him and saw that beside him Deidara had calmed down a bit so I told him something that would cheer him up.

"Deidara, I can regenerate your cells and create you another arm. It's a jutsu I created when Tsunade was teaching me to heal. If I can study your other hand enough I may be able to get your other mouth thingy on your hand recreated onto your new arm. With at least one full day of nonstop healing I think that you will have a new arm," I said with a slight smile on my face.

His face beamed in my direction and he said, "Thank you so much Sakura, un!"

"And there is another thing that you should know Sakura," Pein said.

I looked down at him and asked, "And what would that be?"

"Madara said that if we don't hand you and Itachi over he will declare war on us. And since you know I wouldn't give either of you up we are know at war with him and his other Akatsuki members that are with him."

I took a deep breath taking in the information that we were now at war. I knew that we couldn't defeat him with just the seven of us we would need help, and I knew that Pein knew this too. So I did what I had to do to get help. With as much chakra as I could muster I sent a shadow message (Shika had taught it to me a long time ago) to Shikamaru about what had just happened and everything that I had seen inside of Madara's mind, and I also asked for him to contact me as soon as possible. I then made myself more comfortable on Pein's back and stared ahead, waiting for what would come next.

_**Kohona**_

Naruto knew that scroll was bad business as soon as he touched it, and he was right. The looks of everyone around him confirmed it. Sai had a strange look of shock on his face, Shikamaru didn't know how to react because he was unprepared for this, and Sasuke looked as if he was going to kill someone at this very moment. And that person would be Danzo.

The scroll that Naruto had brought to Sai and Shikamaru at the Nara house was filled with a horrible truth, the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre. Of how Itachi had been forced to kill his family for a mission, of how the elders and mainly Danzo had been the ones to give him the mission. Naruto was disgusted that his beloved village could ever make someone do this. He always knew that those Elders were rotten to the core, and this proved it.

Suddenly Sasuke stood up abruptly and headed towards the door. Naruto knew that he was confused and hurt to find out the person he set out to kill was actually innocent, and that he wanted to take it out on the ones who made him think such things, the Elders.

So Naruto stood up from his chair and grabbed Sasuke roughly by the shoulders and pushed him against the wall.

"Don't do anything stupid Sasuke, now is not the time for revenge. You will have plenty of time for that later. What we need to do is tell Kakashi or Tsunade about this," Naruto said.

"No," Sasuke growled as his Sharingan burned brightly, "they need to pay for what they did now!"

"Sasuke, Naruto is right," Shikamaru said while standing up slowly, "we need to tell someone we trust before we do anything else. Actually I have a feeling that we will be seeing your brother very soon."

That made Sasuke stop struggling to get out of Naruto's hold. Sasuke, Naruto and Sai looked at Shikamaru with a questioning look until Sai spoke what they were all thinking, "What do you mean by that?"

"I taught Sakura a while ago to send me shadow messages through her mind to me. And I just got some unnerving news. Long story short Sakura and some of the Akatsuki loyal to her and her brother are now at war with a man named Madara Uchiha who goes by the name of Tobi, the one with the orange swirl mask. And what's really a drag is that she needs our help because he is the most powerful member in Akatsuki, but I have a feeling that we will be helping her anyways," Shikamaru said ending it with a smirk.

"That's a lie," Sasuke finally said, "Madara Uchiha is dead."

"Well according to Sakura he is very much alive and dangerous. And he is after her and Itachi, and if he can't get Itachi he will go after you and still take Sakura either way. Along with that he is still after the Eight Tails and Nine Tails."

"We should take her word on it, she has never been wrong about these things from before," Sai added in.

Naruto let go of Sasuke feeling that he had given up for now, and said, "I trust whatever Sakura-chan has to say. I bet that she will probably send a message to Grandma Tsunade soon so we should just wait for now."

Shikamaru nodded at Naruto and looked back at Sasuke, who still had a somewhat shocked look on his face. Then he said, "Sasuke don't do anything rash for now. I have a feeling that Sakura-chan has all the answers to our questions at the moment. So we will wait for her to contact the Hokage and we will go from there alright?"

Sasuke said nothing, just gave a grunt. Then he left the room with Naruto following close behind.

_**Ame**_

We were now in Pein and my office in Ame at the Kage building. My chakra levels had grown considerably better so I was able to stand and start on healing Deidara's arm while we had our little meeting. Pein stood by my side as I sat in a chair and started to clean up Deidara's arm, Kisame stood by the door, Konan by the desk, and Itachi and Sasori stood opposite of Deidara, Pein and myself.

We all stared at each other (I only stared at Deidara's stub of an arm), until Pein spoke in a grave voice. "We must somehow get prepared for war. Madara probably thought that we would all head to Ame so that he wouldn't take it, and at the moment we have no one to help us," then he sighed and said, "Even with all of us against him, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu we have no chance of beating them all."

As I got done disinfecting Deidara's stub and put my healing chakra into it I said, "Well I know that Pein, that's why I have already sent for help." Pein, or any of the others for that matter, had no idea that I had sent a shadow message to someone so I could understand if Pein would be upset with me for doing something that he didn't order. But I was wrong.

He had a look of confusion on his face as he looked at me and slowly said, "How did you already send a message to someone, and who is this person?"

I took a deep breath and said, "My friend, and excellent strategist, Shikamaru Nara from Kohona. He has probably already told Naruto and Sai I'm guessing, but at the moment I think there is an up and coming Kage Summit so they probably won't tell Tsunade until later. Plus I have a feeling that Suna will help us too."

Pein looked a little reluctant about help from Kohona, but he let it pass for now then he said, "Why would Suna help us? If you don't remember two of our members killed their Kazekage."

"And I don't think that they would take kindly to me being alive," Sasori said in a bored tone across from us.

"Well the thing is I'm very close with the Kazekage, Gaara, and I have a feeling that he would put up with you guys if I was in danger and he knew that he could help," I answered back.

"Seems like anyone who knows you would help you Blossom, un," Deidara said as he slightly winced at the feeling of new cells growing.

"Oh and Pein, I'm guessing you were never after the tailed beast and it was Madara who truly was," I said in a calm tone, still healing Deidara's arm.

Pein started at my side, looked at me sternly and said, "How do you know about that?"

I knew I couldn't tell him yet about my mind reading skills, it just wasn't the right time, so I settled for saying, "I'm just a good guesser. But this also means that he will be after not only me and Itachi or Sasuke, but also Naruto and Killer Bee from Cloud. We have to keep them out of his grasp."

"That is true," Itachi said, "They are a main component in Madara's plans."

"I also agree with Kitten," Kisame said from the door.

Pein nodded at us and said, "We will discuss more later, but we now all need rest after what happened back at base. You all know about the base under this building, which is where I transported all of our supply so you may all go down there to rest and collect your belongings."

"Sounds good," Kisame said as he opened the door and headed down the hallway.

"You guys go I have a lot of healing to do for Deidara so we will see you later," I said still focusing on Deidara's arm, but my long hair just kept getting in the way so I said, "And can one of you please tie my hair up, it's becoming annoying to work with."

Itachi came over and took and band out of his Akatsuki cloak and put my hair up for me, I said thank you but then I felt him go behind my ear then he said, "I will need to talk to you later."

I nodded getting a slight shiver down my back as he talked to my ear. He then stood and left me to heal Deidara.

*1 day later*

I beamed at my work; Deidara now had a fully functioning arm, with a mouth, tongue and all.

"Now you should do some regular stretches, but not enough to strain it," I warned him in my medic mode now, "But other than that it seems perfect."

Suddenly I was in a bone crushing hug and Deidara yelled, "THANK YOU THANK YOU! I don't know what I would do without you and my arm Blossom!"

I laughed as he let go and said, "You would crash and burn my friend, crash and burn."

He gave me a small smirk then went off to go find Sasori, probably to show him the new arm. I walked through the hallways of the underground base to find Itachi. I knew that he wanted to talk about how much I knew from my little _talk _with Madara. And I would tell him what I knew.

I was starting to feel as if I would never find him when I heard someone say behind me, "Sakura."

I looked to see Itachi looking straight at me, beckoning with his eyes for me to come follow him. I did as he wanted and he led me to his room, which I'm guessing had many silence jutsu's around it.

When he entered the room he took my hand to lead me to the bed, I sat down criss-crossed and then he sat next to me on the edge.

I sighed a bit and said, "I'm guessing you want to know what I know, right?"

"Yes," was his simple answer.

I took a deep breath and said in at a slow pace, "I found out what Danzo and Madara made you do. How they made you kill your whole family for _the sake of the village._ I saw how you wanted to disagree but you loved your village and the people in it too much. I saw how you and Madara killed the clan and how you cried as you looked at your brother for the last time. I saw Madara's plans, him threatening you with Sasuke…everything."

Itachi looked at me with the most emotion that I had ever seen on his face. There was anger, hurt, and just raw sadness. But then there was a confused look.

"What do you mean by 'saw' " he asked.

_Danmit! I knew that I worded it wrong somewhere…great,_ I thought dryly.

"Well…um…I have only ever told Naruto about this, and I'm not sure how you would react…you might end up hating me," I said as I looked down and let my long pink hair cover my face.

He then put his hand on my chin and gave me a stern yet soft look and said, "It is you who should be upset with me after everything that I have done. And I won't think of you any differently after you tell me how you found all this out."

He then gave me a smirk and brushed some of my hair away from my face. I knew I could trust him with this; it was just hard to let it out was all.

I looked at him straight in the eyes and said, "I can read minds. At first when I told Naruto I could barely control it but after he helped me I can now control it a whole lot better. Madara somehow knew that I could read minds and he told me to read his and I did. That's how I saw everything." After I was done spilling my guts out I looked back towards the ground, waiting for him to yell at me or do something, but he did the exact opposite. _He's just full of surprises now, _I thought to myself.

He had me enclosed in a gentle hug with his arms around my waist and my arms at my sides, still to slightly shocked to move.

"You idiot, why would you think that, that would bother me? You have control over it so I see no problem with it. And if you told any of the others I know that they would agree with me. You are the same Sakura Kuroyoi that you have always been."

I felt so happy that he didn't push me away or yell at me that some tears started to come out of my emerald orbs. I finally put my arms around him and said, "Thank you," under my breath.

He held me closer to him for a couple more minutes until he let go. He smirked at me and then a serious expression took over as he said, "How could you not be angry at what I have done?"

I smiled up at him and said, "Because it wasn't your fault. Danzo and Madara had you in a corner between your loyalty to the village and the love for your family. I know you're a good person; you couldn't even kill your little brother. You took on so much pain for you village because of those two and the Elders. And they will pay for it," I ended with a sour tone in my voice.

"Just try not to do anything rash against them, please," Itachi said, pleading with his eyes.

"I won't I promise," I said, then I switched to a lighter tone and said, "And since when have _I ever _been rash?"

He smirked at me as he helped me up from the bed and said, "Since you were a child."

I giggled a bit, happy that we understood each other now and that there were no bad feelings between us.

As we reached the door and opened it we were met with a surprise. Deidara and Kisame, who at first had their ears at the door, were now sprawled on the floor, and Sasori had a look of indifference on his face as he shook his head at the two S-class nin on the floor.

I knew now that they had tried to eavesdrop on the conversation between Itachi and me, and now I was glad that Itachi had been paranoid enough to put up those silence justu's. I cracked my knuckles looked down at them and said and a sickly sweet voice, "So which one of you would like to get thrown at the wall first?"

They had looks of horror on their faces knowing that I was serious but then Deidara said, "Hey you can't injure me at all, un. Remember I just got a new arm and it is not supposed to be damaged."

I sighed in defeat and said, "Yeah I guess your right about that…but-"

"Kisame you are not injured at all," Itachi said finishing my sentence.

"That's right," I said with a smile as I kicked Kisame through a wall down the hallway.

I wiped my hands off together and then Sasori said, "I told those idiots not to listen in…did you even put chakra into that kick?"

"Nope," I said popping the 'p'.

Sasori and Deidara sweat-dropped while Itachi ruffled my hair a bit which made me pout. I swatted his hand away and started to fix up my hair.

"Have you gotten any word yet from the Nara boy you contacted?" Sasori asked, changing to a serious tone. Everyone then lost the joking air around them and sobered up.

I shook my head and said, "No, they are probably thinking that I will send a message to Tsunade, which I will. But I will only send it after the Kage Summit is over, I know how she gets before those things and if I come up and ask her to join us in the war before the Summit…let's just say that it won't go well." I remembered how stressed out she got and how drunk too she got before those Summits, it wasn't pretty (especially when you had to buy a new desk every hour and fix at least ten holes in the wall).

"Well then all we can do it wait," Itachi said and all three of us nodded at him as we walked down the hallway to see if Kisame was unconscious or not from that blow against the wall. He was.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**

**~ok there is another chapter done…the first chapter of them at WAR….in the next chapter there will be the Kage Summit among other things as well…**

**I'm still not sure who Sakura should end up with so once again (sorry about this) give me votes on who you would want in your reviews!**

**Thank you all that reviewed! I keep going for you guys (also because I love this story:)**

**PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW! (who knows if you don't Kisame might go Jaws on you:)**


	21. The Kage Summit

_**Ame**_

After a couple days of rest from healing Deidara I thought that I should at least get something done besides sleeping. So when I got up I put on my usual attire, a long-sleeved fishnet shirt over a red tube top and ninja shorts, grabbed my katana, and went to the training grounds outside of the Kage Tower.

I really needed to brush up on fighting with my favorite weapon and doing it out in the rain, to me, made it much more easy and fun to do. Instead of getting beat to a bloody pulp in Itachi and Sasori's training sessions, I think training by myself was a much better option, especially with the war looming over us. I needed to be in tip-top shape.

War. Not my favorite subject to think about. And to think this whole thing will be fought for only _four_ people, me, Itachi or Sasuke, Naruto, and Killer Bee. I knew that there had to be pain before peace, just as my brother has told me, but this war was stupid. I can't stand it, to see people die when I could've saved them or something like that.

Getting frustrated I started to go through a series of techniques that Kisame had taught me and went all out. Plus the rain helped me cool down a bit, another reason to love the rain.

"Why can't Madara die already," I muttered to myself as I swung my katana again, "he's too damn old and arrogant to be as strong as he is."

After about 30 minutes I knew that I was done with my practice with my katana, then I let my wet hair down from its bun, and let it slide down my back. I just stood there in the rain, thinking of what would come next, who would die, and who would come out victorious.

I looked towards the sky, letting the rain drops fall on my face, and said to myself, "If we can't end this war, it will just destroy us all."

"You are quiet right, Sakura."

At the sudden new voice behind me I looked to see that Pein was behind me also standing in the rain. He had a sad look on his face on his face as he looked at me, his thoughts shouted at me in a clear and ragged voice.

_I never wanted this to happen to her. She shouldn't be fighting in the front lines of a war, especially when we have already lost so much because of war._

I looked at him with a sad expression on my face and went over to stand next to him while sheathing my katana. When I reached him I put my arm on his shoulder, looked into his grey eyes, and smiled.

"I know that this will be the hardest battle any of us have ever fought. But Madara will be facing the Rinnegan, Eight-Tails, Nine-Tails, the Shaningan, Akatsuki, and anyone else who helps us. I know that Kohona and Suna will, I don't know about the other nations, but we will pull through I know it."

He smirked at me and said, "You always view things from the bright side, as always," then his face turned serious as he said, "Just don't die on me."

"Can't you just revive me? You know I can get reckless sometimes," I answered back.

"Yes that is possible, but only if I get there within 30 minutes. You can learn to do the same if I die. Since we are blood related and have the Rinnegan we could revive each other, without dying," he told me.

"Well that's good, and yes I promise to try my hardest to not die if you promise too," I said back at him with a sober face.

"Of course," he said.

He then put his arm around my shoulder and got me out of the rain and into the building but not without saying, "Now since you're done with training the both of us have some paperwork, and missions to assign. We still have a village to run."

I pouted up at him but nodded and said, "Well we are the Amekages."

"And we should also make that letter that you want to send to the Hokage."

"Kay," I said as we walked up the stairs and up into our office.

_**Kohona**_

_And there goes another desk. This is like what…the tenth one in two hours, _Naruto thought with a sigh. The reason why the Hokage at the moment was destroying her desks and walls was because of the up and coming Kage Summit that day, and because of a certain Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha to be exact.

Let's just say that Sasuke didn't stick with the plan to tell Tsunade when Sakura sent another message to them. Nope he just went and ranted to the Hokage about how Danzo and the Elders were screwed up and that they were the reason his life was a living hell. That topped with the Kage Summit made Tsunade a little more violent than usual.

"Grandma Tsunade calm down!" Naruto yelled as she was about to throw the new desk that she just got out the window.

"We have a summit to go to Lady Tsunade. For once I would listen to Naruto and calm down before we transport to the summit," Kakashi said from the back of the room. The only reason he was here was because he was the escort for Tsunade to the summit.

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, took a deep breath and said, "Fine Let me get my Hokage robes and then we will leave."

Naruto sighed in relief, then he looked at the back of the room and next to Kakashi was Sasuke, brooding as usual. But he was more pissed off than normal, _Great now I'm gunna have to deal with that,_ Naruto thought.

"Let's get going Kakashi," Tsunade said, now in her Hokage robes but then she pointed a finger at Naruto and said, "Watch the Uchiha and make he doesn't do anything stupid like kill Danzo." Then she and Kakashi disappeared in a flurry of leaves as they went to the Kage Summit.

Naruto looked back at Sasuke and sweat dropped at his sulky attitude.

_I wonder what Sakura would do if she was here_, he thought to himself which then brought about the dark chuckle of the Kyuubi at the back of his mind.

_**Kage Summit**_

The Hokage was the last person to arrive at the summit with Kakashi. Kakashi looked around and saw the Kazekage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage already seated with their escorts/bodyguards standing behind them.

"Glad to see you have finally arrived Tsunade-hime," the Tsuchikage said in an old and gruff voice.

"Yes I had some _issues_ to work out before I came here," Tsunade said as she sat down in her seat.

_Yeah right, _issues,_ is the right word to explain what has just come to light, _Kakashi thought.

"Now that everyone is here let's get started," the Kazekage said in his regular rough voice.

Kakashi watched as they all spoke over village matters, but he was on edge. He had a feeling that something was wrong, so he moved slightly closer to Tsunade just in case.

As he listened for an hour to the droning voices of the Kages, and every once in a while Tsunade and the Raikage yelling, the front of the floor in the semi-circle table started to swirl.

As it did all of the bodyguards, including Kakashi went right in front of the swirl weapons at the ready.

What came out of the swirl was the masked Akatsuki member, with the two immortal members that Kakashi had seen in the bingo book. The one with the scythe swung out at all of them and they were forced to jump back next to their respectful Kages. When they jumped back another Akatsuki member rose up from the ground, he looked like a plant to Kakashi (he was also one he had never seen in the bingo book).

"Akatsuki," Tsunade growled under her breath.

Kakashi, kunai still at the ready while his other hand was at his headband, watched as the masked man stepped forward and said, "Well this is certainly a nice little gathering here, I'm so sad that I wasn't invited."

Everyone gave him incredulous looks as he said this. It was strange for an Akatsuki to whine about something like this.

"What do you want Akatsuki? If your here because of the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails you're not getting them," Tsunade yelled, "Remember you all made a deal with Sakura to stop hunting Naruto for at least six years, and you can't have the Eight-Tails either."

"What deal?" the Raikage shouted.

The masked Akatsuki member waved his hands in front of him and said, "That deal doesn't apply to me anymore, the four of us are no longer part of Pein's Akatsuki. In fact we are here to make a deal."

All the Kages looked reluctant to hear him out but they stayed seated still, and listened.

"Hand over the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails containers and as well help us get Sakura Kuroyoi, who you know as Sakura Haruno, and either Itachi Uchiha or Sasuke Uchiha. If you do this we will not have to declare war on you," the Kages cringed at this, "But if you don't do as I ask you will all die, be sure of that."

The Kages, along with Kakashi were speechless. Kakashi knew that they would never agree with him, and he would protest if they did because Sakura was in danger.

"If we were to help you, and that's _if, _where would we find Sakura Kuroyoi and Itachi Uchiha?" the Tsuchikage asked.

Tsunade slammed her hand on the table at this and yelled, "Why would you even ask that?"

"They would be in Ame," the masked Akatsuki member said, completely ignoring Tsunade's outburst, "Sakura is now an Amekage along with her brother, and Itachi is at their side, the traitor. I have already declared war on them and in turn Ame as well. I suggest that you take up my offer, it is in your best interest."

"The hell it is!" Tsunade shouted still standing.

"Who are you?" Gaara piped in, getting everyone's attention.

"My name is Madara Uchiha; sorry to disappoint you all but I'm not dead. Actually I'm immortal like these two idiots over here," Madara said while pointing at the silver haired one and the one with green eyes.

"Fuck you asshole!" The silver haired one yelled back at Madara.

The green eyed one just sighed and hit the silver haired one on the head.

"Hidan, Kakuzu knock it off **before I eat both of you**," the one that looked like a plant said.

Madara clapped his hands together and said, "So what is your answer?"

Everyone tensed at this, and it was silent for a while before the Kazekage spoke up.

"No," Gaara said, "Suna will help Ame in destroying you."

"As will Kohona," Tsunade said, crossing her arms.

All the other Kages looked at Madara with no fear and said no as well.

"Well it looks like I will have the five of you and Pein and Sakura's forces against me. No matter you will all die or surrender to me either way."

All the Kages held their ground against Madara, not letting him persuade them.

Then he spoke once more in a slightly happy voice," I declare war on you, you, you, you, and you," he said pointing to all the Kages with his finger," Be warned that the army I will use will be immortal and very deadly. Hope you can all live with your decision to send your ninja to their execution."

And with that Madara, Hidan, and Kakuzu left in a spiral and the plant one sunk into the ground.

"We must contact Sakura," Tsunade said to Kakashi.

_**Ame**_

Pein and I just finished all of our work and were now leaving the office. We walked side by side as we went down to the underground base where the others were probably.

When we entered I said, "I have to write my letter to Tsunade so I will see you later Pein."

He nodded and we went our separate ways. When I entered my room, that looked just like the other one back at the original base, I sat down at my desk, got a piece of paper, and a brush with ink.

My letter to her said this:

_Dear Tsunade,_

_We are now at war with a man named Madara, who is very dangerous and powerful. My brother and I know that we cannot fight him alone so as the leaders of Ame we ask for your help, and I ask as your student._

_Please answer as quick as you can. When all of us meet I will explain everything._

_-Sakura Kuroyoi, Amekage_

_P.S. I miss you and everyone else very much and I hope to see you all soon…I just wish that it was under better circumstances. Oh and don't drink too much sake just because I'm not there._

I then rolled it up and put the symbol for Ame on the seal to close it up, and then I summoned a small slug to deliver the letter.

"Give this to Tsunade as soon as you can, thank you," I said to the slug while handing her the letter.

"As you wish," the slug said then disappeared with a poof.

I sat in my room just looking towards the ceiling for a while wondering what she would say and when she would reply. I wasn't too worried about her saying no; I had a feeling that she would help us. And if she didn't Naruto would probably come to Ame and help me either way though.

_That knuckle head is going to get himself actually killed one of these days, _I thought to myself.

I had to get my mind off of thinking what could or couldn't be at the moment so I got another piece of paper and wrote another letter to Gaara. Writing this one I had a small smirk on my face at some parts. The first part was practically the same but it got slightly different. His letter said this:

_Dear Gaara,_

_We are now at war with a man named Madara, who is very dangerous and powerful. My brother and I know that we cannot fight him alone so as the leaders of Ame we ask for your help._

_I know that I probably hurt you all, especially you, Naruto, and Kakashi by leaving but by helping us I believe that we will no longer be enemies. My brother never wanted to take all of tailed beasts' that was Madara's plan. We are now helping Ame become a better place and we hope that after this war there will be peace._

_Please answer as quick as you can. I have already written a letter to Tsunade, I'm awaiting a reply, but I have a feeling that I will be meeting her in Kohona, so if your answer is yes then come to Kohona. Thank you._

_-Sakura Kuroyoi, Amekage_

_P.S. I miss you all in Suna very much and I hope to see you all very soon! Oh and when you meet us a certain person will be alive, but I don't want you to freak out, please._

I then did the same thing I did for the letter to Tsunade and summoned up another slug.

"Please take this to the Kazekage as soon as you can, thank you," I said to the slug.

"As you wish," the slug said as it poofed away.

I then got up from my desk and put my damp hair up in a messy bun with two senbon, and walked out into the living room, but not without grabbing my katana. When I arrived there Itachi, Sasori, and Kisame were sitting down; Itachi reading a book, Kisame drinking some sake, and Sasori fixing up his puppets. I smiled at them sat down on the floor in front of the couch (where Kisame and Itachi were sitting, Sasori was sitting on the floor in front of me as well) and started to sharpen my katana.

"So have we gotten any word yet from Suna or Kohona," Sasori asked me as he smoothed out a piece of wood.

I sighed and said, "I just sent them the letters a couple minutes ago with slugs to deliver them. They are pretty fast when it comes to messages so I expect and answer today."

Still sharpening my katana I leaned against Itachi's leg and said, "Are we really ready for a war guys?"

I then stopped sharpening my katana and looked up at everyone. This had been bugging me way too much and I needed some reassurance. Yes I know it's somewhat selfish but I just needed it if I wanted to be able to use my Rinnegan to my full capacity.

Pein had been teaching me the ways of the Rinnegan and that those who get it are the ones who are the ones that will help create peace. He helped me master all the paths of the Rinnegan, without getting other bodies, and he said confidence is the key. "Without it our Rinnegan's will not work as they should," he had said.

I felt someone ruffling my hair and I looked up to see Kisame doing it and then Itachi leaned down and put his hand on my shoulder, and then I looked at Sasori who was actually _smiling_ at me. Shocker.

"Blossom, with the help of the others I do believe that we will come out victorious, but not without people lost. War is a very complicated thing, the whole reason we joined Akatsuki was because it is a peace wanting organization. That is what all of us want, peace," Sasori said.

"Everyone here has lost something or someone dear to them. This war will hopefully end all the pain and suffering to bring about a new era of light," Itachi said, his hand squeezing my shoulder reassuringly.

Then Kisame smiled and said, "Plus with you and your brother's kick-ass Rinnegan abilities I'm pretty sure that the others will be afraid to even try to attack you."

I gave him a playful glare, and looked at everyone again. This was my family, I loved them, and I would protect them. I now knew that this war was necessary for peace to come to the ninja world.

I smiled up at them and said, "Thank you. And you know what Kisame, I think you're right. Pein and I can destroy and entire village with just one move, that sure will come in handy."

Kisame gulped and said, "You know for being such a cute little girl, your scary."

"And don't you forget it! You should've seen all the things I did to Naruto when he got on my nerves, he was my personal punching bag," I said proudly.

"We will come out on top either way; we all like to win anyways, un. We don't lose, especially to that idiot Madara," Deidara said as he came in.

"Were you eavesdropping Deidara?" I asked.

"Of course," he said with a smirk and shrug.

_**Kage Summit**_

Everyone was still trying to get it through their heads that they were now at war with the four rogue Akatsuki members. Kakashi was just glad that it wasn't Sakura he had to fight against.

"So what are we all going to do?" the Raikage asked.

"We will join forces is what we'll do," Tsunade said bluntly.

This brought up fighting between Tsunade, the Raikage, and Tsuchikage while Gaara and the Mizukage just stayed silent and watched.

After a while Gaara spoke and said, "We must join forces. I may be young but even I can see this; we will not win if we fight amongst ourselves, we need to beat Madara. The only way to do that is a joint shinobi force."

Everyone was silent and looked at Gaara, silently agreeing with him; he was right.

"I take it that you all agree?" Gaara asked.

A union of 'hai's' were said.

Then Tsunade mused, "But what about Sakura and Ame?"

And at that very moment two slugs appeared in front of Tsunade and the other in front of Gaara.

"From Sakura Kuroyoi," the two slugs said in union.

The two Kages opened their letters and read them. As they did their feelings intensified; Tsunade missed her student dearly and Gaara missed his friend, of course they were going to help her. They both looked at each other, knowing that their letters probably said the same thing and nodded.

"What do the letters say?" Kakashi asked, wondering what Sakura had to say.

"She wants the Kazekage and me to join forces with her and her brother's Akatsuki, as well as Ame," Tsunade replied.

"Does this mean that they are now part of the Joint Shinobi Force?" the Mizukage inquired.

"Yes, we will need their help. Two Rinnegan users, a Shaningan user, a bomb expert, someone thought to be an angel of death, and one of the Seven Swordsmen from the Mist will be quiet useful to us in this war. I'm guessing that those are the only ones that are still loyal to Sakura and her brother. Plus they have the Ame ninja as well," Gaara said, hands crossed in front of him.

"Too bad that puppet expert is no longer alive, he would've been very useful," the Tsuchikage mused.

Kankuro and Temari (Gaara's escorts/bodyguards) scowled at this but didn't say anything.

"Hokage, Kazekage," the Raikage said in a loud voice, "send a letter to the Amekages and tell them that they have all of the Five Great Shinobi Nations consent to work for them. And that we will discuss further details in Kohona. Is that alright with you Hokage?"

"Yes, that is fine," she answered.

Gaara and Tsunade wrote their replies, they were exactly the same; stating what the Raikage had just told them and what had just happened at the Kage Summit. They then handed the letters to the slugs and told them to get the message to Sakura Kuroyoi as soon as possible. The slugs then poofed away.

"Be in Kohona within three days, Sakura and Pein's people will be there by then," Tsunade said.

The Kages nodded and then went back to their villages to tell their ninja's the news.

They were now at war.

_**Ame**_

We were all chatting away; me still sharpening my katana, Sasori still at work with his puppets and Kisame still drinking, along with Itachi and Deidara sitting down. That was until two slugs poofed into view.

"Sakura Kuroyoi, messages from Kazekage Gaara and Hokage Tsunade," the slugs said in union. I took the letters and then they poofed away again.

I looked over the letters, my eyes widening as I read them.

"What did they say Kitten," Kisame asked from above me on the couch.

"Madara is truly a nut job," I said then I sighed, "He went to the Kage Summit and declared war on all Five of the Great Shinobi Nations, because they refused to hand over Naruto and Killer Bee as well as not help him get me and Itachi. Now they want us to meet them in Kohona within three days when the other Kages will be there and then we will go over the details of our war efforts."

"They will probably need all of our information," Sasori said across from me.

"And since you and Itachi know everything about what that bastard's true intentions are they will need that intel as well, un," Deidara said from his chair.

I took a deep breath and said, "Then I guess we should get ready to go to Kohona, and tell Pein what had just happened."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**

**~ And another chapter done! I actually really liked writing this and of course I can't wait to think up ideas for the next one :)**

**To all those that reviewed thank you very much, you are the driving force behind this story to me…as well as all those who add the story to their alerts thank you.**

**Please Review and give me any thoughts or ideas you have! Thank you :)**


	22. Going to Konoha

_**Traveling to Kohona **_

I was walking in between my brother and Itachi as we walked to Kohona, my second home. Behind us were Sasori, Deidara, and Kisame, Konan was back in Ame to watch over the village (and Ichigo at my request). When we told my brother the news about the Kage Summit and how all of them were willing to fight with us we packed everything we needed and left immediately.

I was now in my Akatsuki cloak, katana strapped to my back underneath the cloak, ring on my finger, and my un-slashed Kohona headband in one of my pouches. Everyone else was wearing their Akatsuki cloaks, and in my opinion we all looked pretty badass.

We walked in silence until Sasori spoke up and said, "I have a question Leader, Blossom."

Pein looked like he really did not want to talk right now (heading to a place where a lot of people hate you can add some pressure) so I answered and asked, "What is it Sasori?" my voice neutral.

His bored voice answered, "What will we do about the Kazekage? I expect that he, and everyone else, thinks me to be dead by your hands."

I sighed and looked back at him, still walking, and said, "Well I thought we could just explain that Pein brought you back to life and that that's how it will stay. Gaara won't mind much because he knows that if he hurts you he will also be hurting me, but his siblings, Kankuro and Temari, will be a problem."

"Wow, un," Deidara piped up, "seems like they want you to stay dead! I bet if I died people would be sad instead of happy."

Sasori had a look of annoyance on his face as he punched Deidara in the temple sending him to the ground. Kisame and I snickered a bit as Deidara got up slowly and brushed himself off. Oh and did I mention that we were now a good couple yards ahead of him until he caught up with us.

"What the hell, un!"

"Deidara stop acting like a child, if you haven't noticed by now it is not the time for such things," Itachi said shutting up a pouting Deidara.

"How much longer till we get there Squirt?" Kisame asked.

I ignored his comment about my size (I was not _that _short) and answered, "About twenty minutes, so not that far if we run instead of walking." Ame was not that far from Kohona so when we left at seven in the morning we were supposed to get to Kohona by six by walking, but it was now around four so we were making good time in my opinion.

"I vote that we walk, un. I don't think that going to a place where everyone despises us faster will make any of us feel better about our situation, un," Deidara said.

"No the faster we get there the faster we can get this over with," Pein said from besides me.

So we all started to run towards Kohona, and at one point Pein was in front with me and Itachi in the middle and Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara in the back. I thought now would be the best time to ask the question I have been wanting to ask Itachi since we left Ame.

I looked over at him to see that he was looking straight ahead and asked, "Itachi, will you be alright going back to the village? I mean if Madara wasn't lying and Sasuke is there it will probably cause some problems considering that he has made it his life's goal to kill you. Plus you will probably remember the night you had to kill your family and how painful it was for you."

Itachi looked at me and gave a small, soft sigh, "Sakura, I have delt with the hate of Sasuke and the village since I was 13. I think that I can still deal with it; you do not have to worry. And as for the memories I can deal with them."

"But why can't you just tell Sasuke the truth? He may be a jackass but he at least deserves the truth. And I will be here to help you deal with those memories…remember," I added in a whisper, "I can read your thoughts when I can't control my mind reading, you have to let me in Itachi."

"I rather not tell Sasuke because he would then turn against the village and cause more problems. And I would rather you not bear my burden Sakura."

I ran a little bit closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder, then said, "I will be here for you whether you like it or not. So don't even think about hiding your feelings from me unless you want me to literally knock some sense into you."

He smirked at me and said, "Thank you." With that we kept running.

_**10 min. later: Kohona**_

We stuck close as we walked to the gates of Kohona Pein next to me in the front, Itachi behind me with Kisame besides him, and Sasori behind Itachi with Deidara besides him. We were in what I guess what was a rectangle formation.

We put our bamboo hats on to cover our faces before we approached the gate, which I bet made us look even more badass.

There was no one guarding the gate, which meant that the shifts were probably changing right now, so we walked right through the gate and into the village.

As we walked pass the gate I tensed up and I guess that Itachi noticed from behind me because he then put his hand on my shoulder and said next to my ear, "Don't worry everything will be fine."

I gave a slow nod and walked forward with Pein with the rest of our Akatsuki behind us. As we walked down the streets all the villagers started at us with mixed emotions of hate and terror as they all went to go inside of their homes or inside the nearest shop.

_You would think that because Tsunade told them that we were coming that they would be a little less afraid, _I thought with a sweat drop.

I sensed something was wrong and I was right when out of nowhere we heard a battle cry coming from my side of the rectangle formation. I quickly got my katana out and put it in front of me where a kunai had appeared, and turned my Rinnegan on while I was at it. This process of getting my katana out and running in front of Itachi and Sasori had made my hat fall off exposing my face.

"Sakura," the man who attacked me gasped.

I looked up into the man's face to see a shocked Neji with his kunai against my katana.

I started into his white eyes and asked in a somewhat calm voice, "Neji put the kunai down now."

The rest of the Akatsuki watched from behind me knowing that they should not interfere, but I could feel the hate for Neji rolling off in waves from their minds.

"If your here to attack the village I won't let you," Neji said in an equally calm voice as my own, "if this village is in any danger from you I will not hesitate to cut you down."

"Oi, don't you talk to her like that, un!" Deidara shouted from behind me. "Is this how you treat your allies, un?"

This brought a look of confusion upon Neji's face, "What do you mean allies?" His kunai still against my katana.

_Shit_, I thought_, Tsunade probably didn't tell them yet._

**You think so? Well I would have never guessed, **my demon said sarcastically.

_Not now, _I thought back to it.

"Yes Neji, sorry to break it to you this way but we are now at war with Madara Uchiha, yes he is alive," I said quickly as Neji's face looked shocked, "And the Five Great Shinobi Nations are joining with us and we were to come here to Kohona to discuss further details," then I sighed and asked, "Neji please put that damn kunai down, we both know you cannot beat me."

Neji took one look at my Rinnegan eyes and put the kunai down, and then he smiled at me, "Good to see that you haven't changed Sakura."

I nodded at him while I picked up my hat and put it back on. The villagers noticed who I was and where now completely confused so I decided that it was best to put the bamboo hat back on.

I then faced him and smiled through my hat and said, "Well I'm glad to see that you haven't either, now if it makes you feel any better how about you take us to the Hokage tower."

He nodded and led us towards the tower. As we walked, in the same formation, Pein bent down to my ear and said, "Nice job handling the Hyuuga."

"Thanks," I said back to him.

We then walked into the tower, still getting glares from the ninja around, but seeing that Neji was with us they didn't attack. After a couple of minutes we were now at Tsunade's door, and then Neji knocked.

"Enter," Tsunade's loud voice, yet stressed, boomed from inside.

Neji entered but before we all entered I turned around and said to my family, "Now no one will insult her or anything, remember that I got my temper from her and she _will_ throw you though a wall." Deidara and Kisame seemed like the only ones affected by what I said while the others remained impassive as we walked through the doors to see Tsunade at her desk.

"Hokage-sama, the Akatsuki are here to see you," Neji said.

She nodded when she looked up at us then she looked back down to her paperwork but not without saying to Neji, "Get Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai." Neji nodded and then left through the window.

"I don't think that it will be such a good idea for Sasuke to come here," I said still wearing my hat.

"He knows the truth about what happened that night Sakura," Tsunade said in a grave voice. She must have known who I was because she memorized my voice, and somehow she guessed right in my knowing the truth about the Uchiha Massacre.

I looked behind me to see Itachi showing no emotion, but through the white strips of the hat I could see that his eyes had hardened a bit at what Tsunade had said.

Just as I was about to ask him if he was okay Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai entered the room through the door. As Naruto walked in he said, "So what is it now grandm- hey what is the Akatsuki doing here?" he then shouted when he looked up to find us in front of him.

"Naruto calm down they are here to help us," Kakashi said putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

_He_ _must have been at the Summit to know that we are here to help_, I thought.

Kakashi lead the three boys, my old teammates, around us to stand besides us to Pein's side.

"What is going on here?" Sasuke asked in his normally angry voice.

"Take off your hats Akatsuki," Tsunade said totally ignoring Sasuke, "there is no reason to hide your faces amongst your ally."

Pein looked at all of us a said in his deep voice, "Take off your hats."

We obeyed his orders and took off our hats at the same time. I was about to ask Tsunade something but I was stopped when arms were wrapped around me tightly.

"I missed you _so_ much Sakura! Don't ever leave me again, especially with the teme, he's very mean!" Naruto shouted from behind my shoulders.

"Nice to see you too Naruto," I said as I hugged him back, then I looked back at Kakashi and Sai and said, "You too Kakashi, Sai."

"Likewise," Kakashi said as he smiled through his mask.

"Glad to have you back," Sai said giving me one of his rare _real_ smiles.

"I think it is about time you get off Kitten now," Kisame said as he picked up Naruto and tossed him over to Kakashi.

"Hey what was that for you-"Naruto ranted but then was cut off by my brother.

"Hokage-san, where are the other Kages?" Pein inquired from my side.

She folded her hands in front of her and said, "They will be here within two days, I wasn't expecting you to get here this early that's why I haven't told anyone yet about why you are here."

"Why are they here?" Sasuke asked.

I looked at him, my eyes hard and said, "To help with the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Uchiha. This is a war to protect Naruto, the eight-tails container Killer Bee, you and Itachi, and myself."

"You teme," Naruto said from besides him, "don't you remember what Shikamaru said about Sakura's shadow message?"

Sasuke gave him a small glare and said, "No I haven't dobe, I just wanted to make sure that they weren't here for any other reasons."

"Sakura," Tsunade said standing up, "I have a question for you."

I smirked at her and asked, "What is it?"

"Why is the man you killed alive and not in a puppet form?"

I put my hand behind my head and gave a sheepish smile, but before I could answer Pein said, "The Rinnegan allows Sakura and me to revive someone without dying. I simply brought Sasori back to life."

Tsunade eyes widened a bit and then she looked at me for confirmation on what my brother had just said; I just nodded.

She nodded back at me and said to us, "Well since we cannot discuss plans for the war without the other Kages you will have to wait a little while," she then took a swig of her sake on her desk and said, "but with everything that has happened I didn't find a place for you to live yet."

Kakashi looked like he was about to say something but Itachi beat it to him saying, "We will stay in the Uchiha compound."

I looked back at him and gave him a look of concern but he brushed it off by ruffling my hair making me irritated as I fixed it up.

"That sounds fine to me," Tsunade said then she said, "And I think that it would be best if you didn't go prancing around my village in your Akatsuki cloaks, I still have to tell them all what has happened."

"Of course," Pein said as he and the rest of took off our Akatsuki cloaks. Everyone was wearing black attire while I wore my regular red tube tope with long-sleeved fishnet over that and ninja shorts. When I took off my cloak my long pink hair fell down my back and I started to play with it slightly to distract me from unnerving thoughts such as, _I want to punch that smug Uchiha in the face,_ I just had to stay away from Sasuke for awhile I concluded.

"You may now leave I will inform you all when the Kages arrive," Tsunade said then she looked at me and smiled, "try to keep your boys in line will ya?"

I winked back at her and nodded as we walked out with Kakashi and the others. Once we were out of the Hokage building I felt someone pulling on my hand and looked back to see it was Sasuke.

_Don't punch him, don't punch him, don't punch him_, I kept repeating in my head restraining my anger.

"Sakura we need to talk," he said his voice sounding sincere.

I tried to pull my hand back but his grip was too tight, "No," I seethed, "you lost your chance the second you tried to kill me and Naruto. So let go."

"Look I can explain if you just let me-"Sasuke said but then was cut off from a low and dangerous voice.

"Sasuke let go before I make you."

I looked behind me to see Itachi and the rest of my family behind him.

"Sasuke let her go, you will have a chance to talk with her later but not now," Kakashi said from behind Sasuke trying to pull him back by the shoulder.

Sasuke reluctantly let go and backed off, and I gave him a glare with my Rinnegan activated. He stormed off then.

"Never like that Uchiha ass," Sai said from next to Naruto.

Naruto sighed and said, "Hey can we meet up later Sakura, I think that the others will want to know how you are."

I smiled at him and said, "Sure, I will find you when I'm ready."

He gave me a thumbs up and walked away with Sai and Kakashi as the rest of us Akatsuki walked towards the Uchiha compound, being led by Itachi.

"Itachi why is your brother a little bastard, and not trying to kill you?" Kisame asked as we walked.

"Hn," Itachi answered.

"That little Uchiha better watch out, un. I don't like it that he was so forceful with you Sakura," Deidara said besides me.

I waved him off, smiled, and said, "It's no big deal, plus if he held on any longer I was going to use my 'push' technique on him."

"Why are you so scary," Kisame asked me.

Pein answered him and said, "She is related to me, but she is not scary."

Kisame just sweat dropped and I smiled at Pein who in turn put his hand on top of my head to ruffle my hair.

"Seriously, why must you guys touch my hair?" I asked irritated.

"Because it's just so pretty," Kisame answered ruffling my hair as I _just_ fixed it.

"I suggest you get your hand off her head Kisame," Sasori said in a bored tone as we entered the Uchiha compound.

"Why shoul- AAHHHHH!" Kisame shouted as I threw him into the air a couple yards ahead. I wiped my hands together and went to walk up besides Itachi.

"So let's go to that house Itachi," I said to him as I linked my arms into his (which he smirked at) and I dragged him through the compound with the rest of the Akatsuki following from behind, and then there was Kisame limping behind them.

_**Somewhere in Sound Country**_

"…and you will now call me Madara-sama or boss," Madara said to his minions- I mean teammates as he finished telling them the new rules for working with him.

"I'm not calling you fucking boss," Hidan said from his corner of the room.

Kakuzu then hit him atop the head and said, "Just do it you idiot, remember that he can kill your immortal ass."

"Whatever," Hidan said back.

"Madara-sama," Zetsu said, "When will we attack Pein and his **stupid** Akatsuki?"

Madara clapped his hands together at this, and everyone could feel him smirking through his mask as he said, "I thought that we should let them scramble at trying to get together their forces. I like to play with my prey before I kill them."

"I don't care what the hell we do as long as I get to kill Blossom Bitch," Hidan laughed.

Madara turned to face Hidan and said, "No I will be the one to get her, as well as Itachi, and the other two are all yours."

"Damn it," Hidan mumbled under his breath, knowing that it was pointless to fight against Madara.

"Now Zetsu how are those clones I-" Madara said but then was cut off when a shadowed figure then entered their cave. All of the ex-Akatsuki put up their weapons while Zetsu and Madara just stood there looking at the figure.

"Why are you here Kabuto?" Madara asked.

Kabuto then laughed and pulled down his hood and said, "I would like to join you."

"What makes you think that I will let you? You are just like Orochimaru, always backstabbing, I would rather not have you hear just to _try_ and kill me," Madara said smugly, crossing his arms.

"I want revenge on the pink haired one, she killed Orochimaru-sama so she will pay," Kabuto seethed.

Madara tsked at this and said, "Sorry no killing Sakura, but you can rough her up a bit."

Kabuto smiled and said, "That's fine with me."

"I still don't trust you though," Madara said.

Then Kabuto just smirked and did some hand seals which caused coffin like boxes to rise up out of the ground to reveal some of the most powerful _dead_ criminals.

"Ah," Madara said while rubbing his chin, "Looks like you praised Orochimaru enough to learn his Impure Resurrection Jutsu."

"You trust me now?" Kabuto asked smirking still.

"For now," Madara said.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot**

**~Sorry for the slow update, just busy and lazy I guess. This is a little shorter than the previous chapters but I hope that you all still like it. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed!**

**Review Please!**


	23. Reunions

_**Kohona**_

The house we were now staying at in the Uchiha compound was _huge_. There were enough rooms for everyone, some extra rooms still left, and there were five bathrooms! As soon as is aw it I thanked Itachi over and over, because you see I thought that we would be staying in a hotel or something, not a Uchiha mansion. And even the beds were comfortable.

The only downside was that we had to clean up a lot considering it has been years since anyone has inhabited this house. And when I asked Itachi whose home it was he said, "My cousin and friend Shisui Uchiha." As he said this I remembered that his face grew slowly morose and I put a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled at him knowing who the certain Uchiha was to Itachi.

Anyways at the moment I left the Akatsuki in Pein's capable hands while I went to meet Naruto. I really hoped that they weren't blowing things up *cough* Deidara *cough*.

Pushing that thought to the back of my mind I walked through the streets of my second home, and got stares from the many people walking the streets. I knew that they knew who I was and that I left to go to the Akatsuki, they just didn't know why I did it, and it was going to stay that way. I really didn't want the entire village to know about my private life.

I was starting to get tired of searching for Naruto down here with all of these stares, so I jumped up onto the nearest roof, found Naruto's chakra and headed towards it.

Where I found him was at Team 7's old training ground, the training ground I held close to my heart. He was standing next to a tree smiling his big goofy smile at me. I walked up to him, smile on my face, and sat down as he started to sit down.

"Hey Sakura-chan, you know I really missed you and that you will never leave my sight again," Naruto said putting his hands behind his head.

I smirked at him, poked his forehead and said, "You baka, you forget that I am now the Amekage, I can't just leave the village my brother and I know run. Plus once you become Hokage we can rub it in Sasuke's face that we are stronger than him."

He laughed and said, "That will be a great day. But Sakura-chan, please talk to Sasuke. I know that he has tried to kill us one too many times, but I can tell that he has really cared for us all this time." Seeing the incredulous look on my face he waved his hands in front of his face and said hurriedly, "Hey believe me at first I didn't trust the teme at all. But as we talked more I understood why he left, and now that he knows the truth about the Uchiha massacre things might go a little smoother with his brother, and I know that you want that Sakura-chan."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Naruto was right, I was glad that Sasuke knew the truth and that he wouldn't try to kill Itachi, but I was still angry with him. For Kami's sake he said 'thank you' knocked me out and left me on a freaking bench. And then he tried to kill me more than once, and his eyes had always been cold when he tried.

But I did notice that when I saw him earlier today that his eyes held a light in them that I haven't ever seen.

"I know that I will have to talk to him, but that doesn't mean that I will forgive him. Naruto you are such a forgiving person, me not so much," I sighed, "I just don't know if I can really talk to him without wanting to bash his head in or crying my eyes out. All I want to be is his friend but I'm not sure if I can even do that anymore." I then put my head down to look at the ground.

Then suddenly I was lifted and put in between Naruto's legs with his arms around me, hugging me close.

"Sakura-chan…don't give up on him, you know he does have _some_ good in him, he just isn't the best at showing it. And if you're really that worried about his intentions just take a peek inside his mind," Naruto said softly.

I looked up at him, as he pulled a piece of my hair behind my ear, and said, "Alright, I'll do it _but_ only for you baka."

He squeezed me, arms still around me, and said, "That's my Sakura-chan."

I gave him a playful look and said, "So what do you want to do?"

"Well, let's see, how about we go see the others? I bet that they would like to know what you have done in your time with the Akatsuki…and so do I!"

I giggled at his antics as he got up, pulling me up with him, and we walked side by side towards everyone's meeting place, the old Sakura Tree.

_**Madara's Base**_

"Kakuzu," Hidan whispered.

"What is it twit?"

"…Why does that white haired bitch look like that old pedophile? What was his name…oh Orochimaru! He looks just like the snake bitch."

Kakuzu sighed at his partner's antics, wishing that he would just blow up or something. Then he waved him off and paid attention to the meeting at hand, while counting his money.

"Once all of White Zetsu's clones are complete we will then attack," Madara said, "and once that happens Kabuto will bring up his Impure Summons, while you two," pointing at Kakuzu and Hidan, "go off and search for the nine-tails and eight-tails."

"Understood," Zetsu and Kakuzu said while Hidan groaned and Kabuto smirked, in that creepy pedophile way, just like his old master had.

"Now I would like an update on-"Madara continued until he tripped on what seem like nothing and started to…giggle like a little school girl. Then he abruptly stopped, and stood up.

"What the fuck was that?" Hidan said in between his laughing.

Madara glared at him through his mask and said, "Because I was that Tobi persona as my alias for a while I guess that part of his personality stuck with me," then he looked at everyone giving off the air of killing intent and said, "you all saw nothing."

And that's when everyone sweat dropped.

_**Kohona**_

Naruto and I were now walking towards the tree, now in sight, to see that everyone was there. The word must have gotten out that I was back along with the Akatsuki. And if I had to guess Naruto had already told all of them to come here of course.

When we got to the tree I was crushed into a hug by Ino. She hugged me tight while I was slightly stunned and said, "Forehead! I missed you _so_ much, why did you leave me with all of these idiots?"

I sighed pushed her off and smiled, "Had some catching up to do with my family and such, and I missed you too Pig."

'**Nice nickname for your friend,' **my demon snickered.

I ignored it and looked back at everyone's faces. Neji and Shika looked bored but I could tell that they were happy to see me back, Team 8 all had smiles on their faces (not so sure about Shino though), Choji was smiling while munching on a bag of chips, Tenten and Lee had huge smiles on their faces, Sai had his grin on, and then there was Sasuke standing to the side of everyone not saying a word, knowing that I would talk with him later.

"So the Akatsuki are your family now?" Kiba asked from besides Hinata.

I smirked, put my hand behind my head and said, "Um, yeah, technically Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki is my real brother, but we are all kind of like a family, and dysfunctional one at that," I huffed at the last part.

"My youthful blossom, oh how I have missed you!" Lee yelled as he ran towards me only to be stopped by Naruto's hand on his face.

"Lee get away before I throw you!" Naruto yelled, but still had a small smile on his face.

I sweat dropped and said, "Lee you probably shouldn't say that or declare your love for me around the Akatsuki. They are…protective of me I guess and you really don't want to get them angry believe me I have seen them angry and it's not pretty _at all_."

I then started to get annoyed of my hair always blowing in my face so I put up in a messy bun atop my head, with two senbons holding it in place.

"Is it true that you are now the Amekage Sakura?" Shika asked me, catching everyones attention.

"Yeah, I am but my brother is also the Amekage along with me. We rule over Ame together…but I usually get stuck with all the paper work the jerk," I said.

"And when I become Hokage," Naruto said then patted my back, "We will be the most powerful kages ever! Believe it!"

"Shut up dobe," Sasuke piped up.

No one paid attention to what he said, from what I could see they all seemed slightly tense around him. I just grinned back and told Naruto, "Yeah with you strength and me and my brother's Rinnegan I bet that we can keep this world peaceful for quite a while."

"When I uh…encountered you earlier today Sakura, I could sense that your Rinnegan was different from your brother's," Neji said in a light tone, "May you please activate it so that I may see it again?"

I nodded hesitantly; the only ones that have seen my Rinnegan or even knew about it in Kohona were Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and now Neji. I took a deep breath and activated it.

There were some small gasps while other just stared at my reddish grey ringed eyes. Then I said, "To answer your question Neji as to why my Rinnegan is different from my brothers it has a slightly bit more of an _edge_ to it. Besides the difference in color I posses traits of the Shaningan, that's why my eyes are a different color than the usual grey."

When I said Shaningan I saw Sasuke's ears perk up a bit listening to what I had said, though he said nothing himself.

"Isn't the Rinnegan very powerful?" Ino asked.

I sighed and said, "Yes it is, but it takes quiet a toll on me if I don't use it the right way. Some of the power is amazing, like I have the Six Paths, they allow me to control gravity, or even suck a soul right out of someone's body, and I can even bring people back to life. And now because of this power I'm now a target for Madara."

Everyone had slight looks of shock and amazement on their faces, even Sai. But then Tenten asked, "Wait I heard that we are going into war, I know that this is true but why are we I just don't get it."

I ran a hand through my hair and Naruto looked at me with a concerned face, knowing who this war was for; the people that had to be protected.

"Madara Uchiha, who is not dead he's immortal, is after me, Itachi Uchiha, possibly Sasuke if he can't get his hands of Itachi, and the two last jinchuuriki; Naruto and Killer Bee form Cloud. He wants to use us to rule over the world and now the Five Great Shinobi Nations and Ame are coming together to stop him."

Everyone started to absorb the information then Sasuke said, "How powerful is Madara?"

I huffed and said in a strangled voice, "Now that's where it gets hard. You see we literally can't _touch_ him unless he wants us too; he can phase his body making him like a ghost. And only people that can match his power like people with special abilities can touch him. He is very powerful and once he has a goal he doesn't stop until he achieves it."

"And how do you know all of this Sakura?" Shika asked.

At this I lapsed, I mean couldn't tell them that I read his mind and knew everything about him. I could tell that Naruto got why I couldn't tell them and he said, "You know Sakura-chan, she's smart, I mean come on she was an ANBU."

I gave him a look that said 'thank you' and he just grinned that grin of his.

"Well I for one can't wait to see how much you have learned from being with the Akatsuki," Kiba said getting off the Madara subject, "How about you spar us?"

"You're on," I said, my voice holding undeniable confidence.

_**1 hour later: Kohona**_

"Holy shit Sakura, how did you do that?" Kiba screeched at me.

I laughed and looked at the ones who had decided to spar with me, who were now exaughtsted on the ground. Naruto, Lee, Neji, Kiba, Sai, and even Sasuke were all huffing a puffing as they tried to get up. I had to admit that it was entertaining to see them _try_ to beat me, but it was futile. It was me against the six of them. With my Rinnegan I beat them easily but I let them think that they were wining at first, hence the battle being an hour long.

"Damn Sakura-chan glad you're on our side," Naruto huffed out.

I smiled and helped him up and said, "Well that was fun but I have to get going before my brother and the others get all worried for nothing, see you all later."

'Good byes' were said by all of them as she headed towards the Uchiha compound, traveling by rooftop.

When I entered the house it was around 9:45 and it seemed that no one was home, or that's what I thought till the lights were turned on by an invisible force and then I stared into the eyes of Deidara and Sasori.

"Hi guys," I said lightly not ignoring the looks of accusation on their faces.

The Deidara started to tap his foot and said, "Where have you been, un?"

I sighed and said, "What are you my mother? I was just with my old friends; it's not a big deal."

"We were worried," Sasori piped up.

"Worried about what? You guys know I can take care of myself just fine and seriously why are you guys acting like I was doing something horrible?" I said defiantly.

"Because your reckless, un."

"Whatever, I'm going to bed I'm tired. And you guys know i would never let something happen to me that would end up hurting you in the long run," I said as I walked past them and up the stairs.

Then I bumped into someone down the hallway to my bedroom; it was Itachi. This struck me odd seeing as that he was always an attentive person and never really did anything as simple as running into someone.

"Sorry," I said looking up into his eyes. That's when I noticed it; his black ebony eyes were clouded.

_Well that's not good, _I thought.

"Hn," was his answer, he started to walk past me but I stopped him.

"Hey why are your eyes clouded?" I asked.

He turned back towards me and said, "It's nothing you need to worry about Sakura."

I gave him a glare and said, "Don't tell me it's nothing, I will read your mind if you don't tell me."

He sighed in defeat and said, "I'm going blind, slowly."

That didn't sound good to me at all, but then I got an idea.

"How about I heal them for you?"

He gave me a look and said, "Blindness caused by the Shaningan can't be easily healed."

"Itachi, you're looking at the girl who has surpassed the best medical-nin in the world, I think that I can heal them for you. Plus with the war coming up you will need to be in tip-top shape," I said in a serious tone, yet it was underlined with hints of humor.

Itachi smirked at me and said, "Alright."

I smiled up at him, led him to my room and began the healing process of curing his blindness.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**

**And there you go another chapter! Thank you all for the reviews :) and also a special thanks once again to Ebeth! **

**~Oh and you should all know that I have revised the earlier chapters because when I reread them they were crappy so I fixed all of the spelling and grammar mistakes (well at least most of them)**

**Please Review!**


	24. First Meeting of the Six Kages

_**Kohona**_

At the moment I was healing Itachi's eyes in my bedroom, and I have been doing it since last night. He had put so much strain into his eyes whenever he used his bloodline that it caused a chakra block to the eyes when they weren't in his Shaningan form. In other words because he didn't tell any healer about his eyes they were slowly failing.

I have been healing his eyes for the past six hours with some small breaks in between, enough time for me to regain a little bit of the healing chakra I had just used up. I thanked Pein mentally for teaching me the Six Paths and giving me those earrings; both helped my chakra reserves.

And within those six hours Itachi and I really didn't talk. I could tell something was on his mind and I knew that I should be focusing completely on fixing his eyes, but I just couldn't help to feel slightly worried.

As I moved another chakra block I said, "Hey Itachi…are you ok? I mean I know that it's a stupid question but you just seem to have something on your mind bothering you. I can sense the turmoil inside and I didn't even have to try…what's wrong?" When I finished I could hear the slight pleading in my voice, and I hoped that he hadn't noticed.

He couldn't look me in the eyes, they had to be closed for the healing process, so he said in a slightly slow pace, "It is nothing for you to worry about. You have many worries already with the war, Madara, as well as the meeting with the rest of the Kages. Worry about yourself instead of others."

I gave him an irritated look (it's not like he could see it but I bet that he could sense it with that weird Uchiha skill all of them seem to have) and said, "Don't give me that. I know that you think that worry about others is a weakness but I care about my family, friends…and you Itachi," at this his head moved perked up, "I can relate with you the most on some level I guess…"

"Would you care to elaborate?" Itachi asked when I trailed off.

I sighed, pushed more healing chakra into his eyes and said, "We are both feared by others. I know my friends here in Kohona are happy that I'm back, but they think that I could be a possible threat with my Rinnegan. I can see that they put on a happy face, but inside some of them are truly afraid of me," as I said this my eyes dropped a bit, "And then there's you."

Done with his eyes I gave a final check with a sweep of chakra to see that everything had been cleared; Itachi would be able to see again. I removed my hands and said, "You can open your eyes now, but not too fast it might irritate them."

Itachi slowly opened his eyes to revel clear ebony eyes. He looked around my room and said, "You did an amazing job Sakura, and in such little time to. You truly are the best medic I have ever seen."

I blushed a bit, got my hair out of my bun and said, "Thanks, it was nothing really just major chakra blocks. Now back to why you're upset…I _know_ that people are afraid of you because of how powerful you are and what happened to your family. But both you and I know that the real you is something completely different."

Itachi sighed and stood up from my bed that he had been lying on and said, "I'm not upset about how people see me Sakura. I have delt with this hate for many years; it is only a pain in my side now, nothing to worry about."

I stood up, my pink hair swaying around me, huffed at Itachi and said in a loud voice, "You're not listening to me. I want to find out why you're upset without having to go into your mind, you know that I hate that and that it's not right. So how about you give me an answer."

His eyes narrowed at me, still not answering as he headed towards my door, but we couldn't have that now could we?

"Pull," I whispered as the door suddenly slammed in Itachi's face.

I was still angry, my face was probably slightly red, and then after Itachi paused from almost getting hit by the door he turned around.

"Well are you going to answer me now?" I said, my voice laced with anger. He needs to tell me before I throw him at a wall soon.

He walked up to me as, inches away from each other and he said in a solemn voice, "This war is my fault."

Stunned I looked at his clear eyes and then regained my senses back saying, "What the hell do you mean? How could this all be your fault? Madara is the one to blame not you."

He then put both hands on my shoulders, not to gentle might I add, and said in a strained voice, "If I killed Madara when I had the chance no one would have to die…you and Sasuke wouldn't be in danger."

He then dropped his head, hands still on my shoulder and said slowly, "I can't lose someone I care about again, especially from that monsters hands. Are you happy now?"

_I get it, _I thought sadly, _the thing he is most worried about is losing his brother and me. So because he didn't kill Madara he feels that we are now at risk because of him…baka._

When I collected my thoughts I pulled him into a tight hug, my head on his chest (he was very tall compared to my petite frame) and he seemed to stun to do anything except pick his head up, but not put his arms around me.

"Itachi…Sasuke and I are _very_ powerful. We can take care of ourselves, plus we have other people like you watching over us. This war is not your fault…no offense but I have a feeling that you couldn't beat Madara all alone, but you could do it if you asked for help. I will help when you need me to; I will always be here for you so stop trying to hide your hurt from me please." I squeezed him tight, keeping him in my hug, waiting for a response.

All of a sudden I got gently squeezed as Itachi returned the hug and put his head on my shoulder, his hair hanging over his face. "Thank you Sakura."

I smiled into his chest and said in a soft voice, "Any time, any time Itachi."

_**Hokage Tower: Kohona**_

Tsunade folded her hands together as she looked at the scene before her. All the Kages have arrived today early in the morning accompanied by their bodyguards and advisers. The Raikage had also brought his brother Killer Bee with him, who was at the moment writing in his book.

"Now that you are all here you will need to rest from your long travels. I have a home rented out for each of you to stay at, once you are all rested we will have our meeting," Tsunade said in her hard voice.

Gaara looked around the room suddenly and said, "Where are Sakura and her brother?"

"They are at the Uchiha compound. She is there along with the other Amekage and Leader of the Akatsuki, Pein, and her Akatsuki still loyal to them are there as well."

Gaara nodded his head as he and his siblings went to the place Tsunade told them to stay at, the other Kages did the same but not before the Raikage said, "I hope that those two Amekages won't betray us."

_**Uchiha Compound 2 hours later: Kohona**_

I had just gotten word from an ANBU that my brother and I were needed in the meeting place under the Hokage Monument to meet with the other Kages. So I was now heading towards the living room where Pein and the rest were at the moment talking about who knows what.

Before I had gotten the message me and Itachi left each other, I then took a shower and put on my usual attire (I grabbed my Amekage hat when the ANBU came and told me the message), and attached my katana to my back.

When I entered the room after going down the _long_ stairs I saw that Itachi was standing against the wall observing this with his new eyes, Deidara was sitting next to Sasori on a couch, Kisame sat in a chair with sake in hand, and Pein stood in front of them all. They all wore their Akatsuki cloaks.

They all looked my way when I entered making me a little annoyed, seriously did they think that I was going to punch them or something?

Anyways I looked at my brother and motioned to the Amekage hat that was in my hand and said, "We are needed for the meeting."

Pein nodded and said, "I will get my things. Sasori, Itachi you will be coming with us. Better they know now that you are alive Sasori than later."

He then went upstairs to get his Amekage hat and probably a metal pipe weapon or two. I looked at Kisame and Deidara and asked, "So are you guys going to be alright while we are gone? Pein wouldn't be so happy to see the entire compound destroyed because you got in another fight."

Kisame laughed and said, "Yeah me and Blondie over there will be alright, oh and Kitten try to control your temper and not kill anyone."

I smirked at this and said, "I'll be fine, it's my brother you have to worry about." And at that moment Pein came downstairs, hat in hand, and glared playfully at me.

"I take it that we are ready?" Pein asked.

Sasori, Itachi, and I nodded. "Ok come over here and grab onto me, I'm going to transport us to the meeting place."

They all walked over to me, Itachi grabbed my hand, Pein my left shoulder, and Sasori my left shoulder. When I made sure that I had them all I focused on my transportation jutsu and we were surrounded in a flurry of cherry blossoms. When they cleared we were now standing in the meeting place under the monument where all the Kages were already seated in front of their village's banners.

As the last cherry blossom left I saw everyone staring at us. I gave a nod of the head, same as my brother and we went to the banner where Ame's symbol was and Pein and I sat down in the two seats given. And we were conveniently between Tsunade and Gaara, the only people that I think like us here.

When I sat down I smiled at Gaara and Tsunade, but Gaara gave me quiet the questioning look and said, "Sakura…why is the man that you killed right behind you and in human form?"

I laughed sheepishly, put my hand behind my head and said, "Well funny story there um-"

"I brought him back to life, now let's get on with this meeting," Pein said cutting me off.

"Nice Pein, nice," I muttered under my breath then looked at Gaara and his siblings. Gaara simply nodded, giving me a look that said we would talk later, but his siblings were staring at Sasori with a killing intent while Sasori just ignored it.

_Great…that's going to be fun later, _I thought with a sweat drop.

Tsunade then said, "We will now begin the meeting. First of all I think that we should find a place to keep the villagers safe, we don't want them getting involved."

"I agree," Gaara said folding his hands together, "We shall put the villagers from each village in an underground base that I have in the western part of Suna. It has all the supply needed for them to live down there a couple of years. Hopefully the war won't be that long."

"What is this underground base like?" The Raikage asked.

"It's mostly like a village underground that will keep the villagers safe enough," Temari said from behind Gaara.

"Do we all agree on this matter?" Tsunade asked.

My brother and I, along with the rest of the Kages agreed and we moved onto the next plan of action.

"Now we need information on the enemy, which I'm sure the Amekages have intel on," the Tsuchikage said gruffly.

"I believe that my sister Sakura knows more about this Madara than I do myself," Pein said.

I gulped and nodded, "Madara Uchiha is the man who is the leader of this war who is immortal and _very_ powerful. He has the ability to phase himself making him untouchable unless he wants to be touched. From what I can tell only people with high class bloodlines, such as the Rinnegan or Shaningon, can touch him when he tries to phase. He also has an unlimited amount of chakra, years of experience, and many jutsus that I don't even know about."

"What is his plan, do you know that?" the Raikage asked.

"Um…that's where it gets difficult," I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair, "He needs me, the nine and eight tails, and either Itachi or Sasuke Uchiha. I'm not sure why he needs us but it has to do with the moon I think. He is planning to put the entire world in a genjutsu that is implanted on the moon. This genjutsu I'm guessing is probably an illusion that makes the entire world under his control, making him the ruler of all."

The Kages took in all this information, but I could still tell that some of them namely the Raikage and Tsuchikage didn't trust me and my brother. And my suspicions were answered when the Raikage spoke up.

"You Akatsuki have been a crime organization for a long time, and have been a thorn in our sides. Why should we trust you now? For all we know this could be a trap to get the nine and eight tails."

"I can assure you that this is not a trap Raikage-san," Pein said sitting up straight, "The Akatsuki was originally a peace organization that I created, until Madara came. He claimed to have my same goals but all he wanted was our power. We want him as dead as you do."

"Then why did you let him stay when you found out Madara's true intentions," the Tsuchikage accused.

"Did you not hear a single word my sister said Tsuchikage-san. Madara is very powerful and he held something over all of our heads, a person that we loved or places that we cared about. We were lucky that we got away from him unharmed," Pein countered.

"Well that's not exactly true Pein," I said reminding him, "Remember Deidara got his arm cut off?"

"Yes, but you healed it so it is nothing to even mention, plus you shouldn't have healed that twits arm anyways," Sasori said from behind me.

When he said this Tsunade asked, "Wait you made a limb from nothing?"

I shrugged and said, "Hand, tongue, and all."

"Do you have any other reasons not trusting us?" Pein said, getting everyone's attention again.

The Raikage looked like he was about to protest but the Mizukage stopped him by saying, "I can't see why we can't. Plus I think you both know," she said pointing at the Raikage and Tsuchikage, "that we need them and their abilities."

The two Kages huffed and calmed down a bit. And then looked at me again, "Who is working with him?" the Raikage asked.

"The zombie brothers, Hidan and Kakuzu, And Zetsu-"I couldn't finish because at that very moment I felt as if someone was burning my head inside out.

I clutched my head in pain, cringing, I could barely feel my brother's hands on my shoulder as I entered my mind. I fell onto what seemed like water and the light around was dark and a reddish color. I then stood on my feet and looked around to see that in front of me were bars of steal with a seal over them, and behind those bars were red eyes, everything else shrouded by darkness.

"Look whose here," said a person wrapped in a black cloak who materialized in front of the bars.

I gave him a glare and yelled, "Who are you? Why are we in my mind?"

He laughed and said, "I'm hurt that you don't recognize me Sakura-_chan_. He then pulled back his hood to reveal someone that I never wanted to see again. It was Kabuto…but he looked different more like Orochimaru with snake like features.

"Kabuto why-how are you here?" I grounded out, clenching my fist while activating my Rinnegan.

"I guess that's a good question. Did you know I'm an expert at demon seal? Using it to get into your mind was easy, all I had to do was focus and put in the right amount of chakra into the jutsu. Now as to why I'm here…well I guess you could say that I'm delivering a message."

"What message?" I growled.

Then he was suddenly behind me, his head next to my ear as he said, "Madara says to be careful around those you love. This war will be won by us; there is nothing that you can do to stop us. And we will kill each and every one of your precious people, be sure of that."

And with that I was blasted back into reality, back into the meeting of the Kages, whose eyes were all on me.

"What has happened?" Pein asked.

I looked at him my eyes slightly alarmed, and then I saw Itachi and Sasori's worried faces. Then I looked to my sides to see Gaara and Tsunade standing up on either side of me ready to spring into action, giving me looks of concern.

"Nothing…I actually have some useful information now," I said sitting up slowly from my crouched position on my chair, "I wonder if Kabuto knew how this would give us an advantage?"

"Kabuto! What do you mean Sakura?" Tsunade yelled, slamming her hand on the table.

I looked at the Raikage and said, "Your question about who is with Madara is still the three rogue Akatsuki members and now Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's right hand man."

Everyone stared at me taking it in, while Pein leaned down to my ear and said, "You _will_ tell me what that was about."

I sighed and said, "I know."

_**30 minutes later**_

"Okay now that we have mostly everything figured out about the enemy we need to create our Joint Shinobi Force's generals," Tsunade said.

We all nodded happy to get off the subject of Madara and my little episode. And I could see that all the Kages were slightly scared since apparently when I was cringing my Rinnegan activated.

"I suggest that we make six divisions that go out into the battle field, each general would be from the six villages, and then we have a Medical Division as well as an Intel Division as well as an Ambush Division just in case we need it," Pein said.

"Agreed," Tsunade said, "I have the perfect person for Intel and Medical. Shizune, my apprentice, will be the general of the Medical Division and Inoichi Yamanaka for the Intel Division general."

No one argued with her, knowing who those people were and that they were fully capable for the job.

"And for Ambush I think that my brother Kankuro would be best for general," Gaara said folding his hands together.

Kankuro, startled, looked at Gaara asked, "Are you sure Gaara?"

Gaara smirked and said, "Yes…you do have a knack for always surprise attacking others."

Kankuro smirked and nodded while the other Kages gave their consent, including me. I know how Kankuro fights, and Gaara was right he; he did always have surprises under his sleeve.

"Now for the Six Division generals," Tsunade said, "For the Leaf I select Kakashi Hatake."

"For Rock I chose Kitsuchi," the Tsuchikage said.

"I chose Darui for Cloud," the Raikage boomed.

"For Mist I chose Ao," The Mizukage said.

Gaara was about to speak but Temari and Kankuro smirked at each other and cut off Gaara and said, "We chose Gaara for Sand."

Gaara stiffened then turned around to face his siblings and said, "Excuse me, but I do think that I am the Kazekage and-"

"I agree with those two actually," I said making Gaara turn to me, "You are an amazing fighter and a great leader just go with it Gaara." I leaned back in my seat and smirked at him, while closing my eyes to rest them.

"Fine," I heard Gaara say.

"And for Rain I chose, my sister Sakura," Pein said.

At this I snapped my eyes opened, sat up straight in my chair and gave a him an incredulous look, "Are you serious? I mean Itachi would be a lot better for this or even Sasori-"

"Two Kages as generals…this should be interesting," the Tsuchikage mused.

I huffed and said, "Okay fine you win Pein."

Pein smirked at his victory. Then Tsunade mused, "We should have a leader of the Six Divisions."

"Agreed," the Raikage said, "Since we have the Kazekage and one of the Amekages I vote that we make both of them the Head Generals."

The rest of the Kages nodded and I did as well, but somewhat unwilling though.

With that are meeting would be finished at another time, and we all went to our home in Kohona.

** Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**

**Thank you to all that reviewed! And there you go chapter 24:)**

**Remember to Review!**


	25. Sasuke's Confession

_**Konoha**_

I told the others to go ahead to the Uchiha compound since I needed some time to think to myself they all nodded, reluctantly though, and went back to our temporary home while I walked the streets of Konoha alone. Or so I thought.

I looked down at my feet stopping my thought of the upcoming war, and saw that there was sand whirling around my feet which could mean only one thing. Gaara was transporting to my location.

I was proven right when a sand form of Gaara came in front of me, and then as the sand flew away it revealed Gaara standing in all his glory in front of me with a slight smile on his face.

I smiled back and said, "Hey Gaara what's up?"

He then put his hand on my shoulder (his form of a hug) and said in his deep voice, "I think the question is how you are Sakura? You know it has been a long time."

I gave him a playful grin and said, "Well first I'm going to give you a proper hug," as I said this I wrapped my arms around his tall form. I felt him smile into my shoulder as he hugged me back, albeit a bit awkward.

We pulled back at the same time and I said, "Let's find a place to sit down and talk. Sound good to you?"

He nodded and followed me as I led him to Team 7's old training ground. When we got there we sat under a tree looking over at the water that was sparkling from the many stars outside tonight. We sat in silence for a while just looking out at the water just as we used to do in Suna, except we were looking out at the vast desert.

He sighed and turned his body to me getting my attention. He looked straight into my eyes and said in a concerned voice, "Are you sure that you are alright?"

I gave a nervous laugh and said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

He gave me _that_ look and said, "At the meeting something happened within your mind and it seemed painful. And you being a target in the war must add some pressure as well as being one of the generals. There are a million things that I could name off but you already know what they are Sakura."

I sighed and ran a hand through my long hair. Gaara was right. I was stressed out, tired, and scared. I knew that I could lose my loved ones in this war; I knew that this war was partially being fought to protect me and the others, and being the Amekage and leader of the Joint Shinobi forces was starting to come to my attention. It was just too many things at once I guess.

Gaara sat there arms crossed waiting for my answer so I huffed and said, "Of course I'm stressed out and worried. I mean…who knows I could end up getting my division killed or they might not want to be led by someone who could be thought of as a monster. And Madara won't stop until he gets what he wants at least that's what his thoughts said and-" I stopped mid-sentence (rant) noticing my slip up.

'**Look who's screwed!' **My demon laughed.

_Crap…not good, _I thought.

I looked up from the lake to see a neutral look on Gaara's face. That was quiet surprising since I know that he noticed my slip up too.

"So you can read minds, thought so."

What. The. Hell.

"Wait what do you mean _I thought so_? Did Naruto tell you because if he did I'm going to kill the little baka," I said giving Gaara a hard stare and cracking my knuckles.

He put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down, which kind of worked, and said, "No Naruto did not tell me anything. I just figured it out on my own."

"Huh?" was my logical response.

He gave me a small smile as he sat against the tree again and said, "You always seemed to know what was on my mind and how I was feeling. I knew that I could put up a pretty good mask so I wondered how you knew everything. So I did a little…research and found out that there have been some excellent ninja's in the past that had the ability to read minds though it was very rare."

I took in the information seeing how smart my Kazekage friend was and then asked in a quiet voice, "So you're not mad about this ability?"

He gave me the eye that said look-who-is-the-stupid-one-today and said, "Why would you even think that? I know that I can trust you so there is nothing to worry about. Plus without your mind reading skills we would have never found out about Madara and his true plans for our world. I say that it is a good thing Sakura."

I gave him one of my bright smiles and said, "Thanks Gaara."

He gave a grunt in recognition and then said, "Am I the only one that finds it funny that the two youngest Kages are the leaders of the army?"

I laughed at his attempted humor and said, "No Sasori thought that it was pretty funny too. But I think my brother got a kick out of it," and then I added, "Oh and you don't have to fear Sasori or Deidara at all. They are actually pretty good guys, they want peace just as much as we do, and they know that if they tried to do anything against you they would have to deal with me."

Gaara nodded and said, "I will trust them for now…it's Kankuro and Temari you are going to have to worry about."

"Great," I said knowing that those two were trouble when they wanted to be.

_**Madara's Base**_

Kakuzu was observing the scene before him. Everyone was working; getting prepared for the war that was practically at their doorstep considering how close Konoha was to Sound. Hidan was sharpening his scythe, Kabuto was going over his Impure Summoning's, Zetsu was cloning more of his white half somewhere, Kakuzu himself was making sure that all of his tendrils were working properly…and Kakuzu had no idea what exactly Madara was doing.

The first time Kakuzu looked over at Madara he had been going over his plans to catch Itachi and Sakura and how Hidan and Kakuzu would capture the tailed-beasts. Then when Kakuzu looked back at him again after a few minutes, Madara was sitting in a corner mumbling to himself; he had now been doing this for the past 30 min.

Deciding that he should see what Madara was up to Kakuzu walked over to Madara to hear him say, "Madara bad boy, Tobi good boy, Madara bad boy, Tobi bad boy, Madara very bad boy, Tobi very good boy." He kept his mantra going until Kakuzu coughed to get his attention having heard enough of Madara's ramblings.

_And he's the evil mastermind?_ Kakuzu thought to himself.

Madara looked around as he stopped talking and said to himself, "Why am I on the floor?"

"You were saying 'Tobi good boy, Madara bad boy' over and over Madara-sama," Kakuzu answered for him.

Madara got up and gave Kakuzu a chilling glare from his one-holed mask. "That damn persona is more of a problem than I thought. You will speak of this to _no one_ got that?"

Kakuzu nodded and then headed back to what he was doing making sure not to look back at Madara for fear that he would use his Shaningan on him.

_**Konoha**_

Gaara and I had been catching up and talking battle plans for the past two hours. It felt good to talk to one of my closer friends again. I have always valued my friendship with the young Kazekage; my respect for him also increased when I found out how hard being a Kage was. Being a Kage Was pretty damn hard. Plus him just being here and accepting my mind reading ability made me very happy. Gaara was had always been the person I wanted to talk to when I wanted someone that was level-headed. The other people I had for advice was the baka, Naruto, and my overprotective surrogate father, Kakashi. So Gaara was a whole lot better.

We were getting into who would be best for the Six Divisions when we heard rustling in the bushes form in front of us. We both jumped up, I had my Rinnegan on and Gaara had his arms crossed with sand pouring out of his gourd. We were both prepared to attack any unwanted guests.

I was about to use my 'Pull' technique when out of the bushes came none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

When we saw who he was I turned off my Rinnegan and Gaara put down his sand but not without him saying, "What do you want Uchiha?"

Gaara didn't sound too happy about Sasuke interrupting our battle plans and neither was I. I really didn't want to see him at all and I wanted to put off our talk as long as I could, hoping that he would forget. Looks like he didn't.

"Gaara I-" Sasuke was saying until he was cut off by Gaara.

"That's Kazekage to you Uchiha.

Sasuke looked like he was trying to burn holes in Gaara's head, and Gaara was doing the same. I sweat dropped and said, "What are you doing here Sasuke?"

Sasuke took one final look at Gaara and said, "I was out for a walk. Naruto's a deep sleeper so he didn't notice me leave."

_That's right Naruto's supposed to be watching him…Nice job Naruto._

"Well you can walk somewhere else; we are talking over battle plans for war at the moment Uchiha. Considering that we are the two head Generals I think you should give us some time to make our plans," Gaara said his voice tinged with anger. Boy did he not like Sasuke.

"I actually need to talk to Sakura _Kazekage_. I believe that she owes me a talk," Sasuke said while spitting out Gaara's title.

"She owes you nothing Uchi-" Gaara was saying till I cut him off.

"Gaara…I promised Naruto that I would talk to him, and you know that I don't break my promises. We can talk over more of the plans tomorrow or something. I'll see you later," I said leaving no room for argument.

Gaara sighed and looked me dead in the eye and said, "Get me if you need anything."

At this I scoffed at him and said, "Though your concern is noted you of all people know that I don't need any protection."

Gaara nodded and left the training ground but not before saying to Sasuke, "Watch what you say Uchiha." Then he left leaving me and Sasuke alone at Team 7's old training ground.

We stood in silence for a moment till Sasuke said, "Let me say what I have to say then you can make your comments, alright with you?"

I crossed my arms, my hair blew with the wind, and nodded at him.

He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "It is true that I did leave at first for power, but that's not the only reason. What you, Naruto, and Kakashi didn't know was that Orochimaru came to me personally before I left and told me that if I didn't come with him he would destroy everything that I held precious in the Leaf; Team 7. I couldn't let that happen to you guys so I went with him."

He waited for a reaction but I gave him none; my mask was on. I motioned him to continue with a nod of my head.

"When I was training to get stronger to kill my brother, I was also training so that I could protect you guys. You were like my family and you have absolutely no idea how difficult it was for me to fight you and Naruto with killing intent. You have to understand that I had to or Orochimaru would know that something was wrong. And when I found out that Orochimaru was after you the entire time breaking our deal, I disposed of him and came here. And now that I know the truth about my family's demise I want to recreate the bond I once had with my brother…and I would like to keep the bond between Team 7 as well."

He crossed his arms and looked at me, showing me that it was my turn to talk. What he said came as a slight shock to me because as he talked I read his mind to see if he was lying; he wasn't.

I gave a big sigh and ran a hand through my hair saying, "Okay I can tell that you're not lying…but that doesn't mean that I can forgive you that easily for hurting me and Naruto all these years. Yes I too want the bond between Team 7 to be there again, but we just have to get used to each other again and forgive I guess. You may have Naruto's forgiveness but remember that I'm not as forgiving as him…Danzo is proof of that."

At hearing Danzo's name Sasuke said, "What could Danzo have possibly done to you?"

I gave him a slight glare and said, "If he can order an entire clan to be wiped out by Itachi then I think that he is also able to steal my memories and seal a demon inside of me. I don't think that I will ever be able to forgive that monster."

Sasuke took a step closer to me, we were now one foot apart, and he said, "Looks like the same bastard screwed both of us over. Well that's something we have in common; we both want the man dead."

"And that's where you are wrong Sasuke; I don't want him dead I want him locked up in prison for the rest of his life to rot. Rotting slowly is much more torture than dying," I said anger laced in my words.

He gave me a pointed look and said, "You're not the same. When we were younger you never wanted to kill people."

I gave a humorless laugh and said, "Well I changed when you left. I don't love you anymore, I'm _much_ stronger than before, and now I'm an Amekage. Team 7 has changed, we have to for this war…and I have a feeling that you, Naruto, and I are the ones that are going to finish off Madara."

At this Sasuke crossed his arms and said, "What gives you that idea?"

I crossed my arms as well and said, "Madara wants us, he wants to use us for his goals. What if that means that we are the only people that I have a chance at killing him? I think that I'm going to have you and Naruto in my division so that if a chance to take Madara comes we will be ready. Plus when I get these feelings I'm usually right."

He looked at me seriously then said, "So the war is going to come down to you, me, and Naruto? Hn, guess we will have to work on our teamwork."

I smirked and said, "Got that right…Sasuke."

_**5 days later: Fire Country, Joint Shinobi For**__**ce HQ**_

I just got done with our final Kage meeting and was now walking through HQ. The looks I got from people ranged from happy, neutral, angry, to downright terrified. I guess not many people like me considering the few ninja that smiled at me were from Konoha, Suna, or Ame. The meeting we had just had was for the final placement of those shinobi who were in the Divisions or Ambush.

I was now heading to my family's tent (all the Kages and me and my brother decided that since people might want to kill us on sight that we should all stay together) to tell them all what Divisions they were in.

When I got to the tent I saw that Sasori and Deidara were arguing about art again while Itachi and Kisame were sitting and eating, Konan came a couple days ago after the villagers of Ame were evacuated into Suna's underground bunker, and somehow Pein had gotten here before me. It was weird that whenever we came from a meeting he would always beat me to the tent.

I looked at Pein and said, "Did you tell them what Divisions they were in?"

"I was going to leave that to you Sakura," Pein said.

"Lazy ass," I muttered under my breath.

"I heard that," Pein said in turn.

Getting annoyed I started to play with my chakra earrings as I got everyone's attention to tell them what Division they were in.

"Okay guys here are your army Divisions. Deidara since you are good at surprise attacking with your bombs you are going to be in the Ambush Division led by Kankuro, and if I find out that the two of you are fighting I will make it my personal job to kick both of your asses," I said to Deidara.

He gulped and nodded his head.

"Itachi and Kisame, since you two work well together you will be together in Division 6 with me," I said making Kisame give a toothy smile and Itachi a smirk.

"And Sasori you will be in Divisions 1 with Kakashi, and since Division 1, 6, and Gaara's number 5 we will be seeing a lot of each other still," I said now facing Sasori.

He gave a small nod but his mind felt happy that I was going to be close by so that he could watch me.

"And Konan will be with me and the other Kages," Pein said, "We need to-"

Pein was cut off when someone entered the tent. That someone was a giant man with white hair that I noticed was Naruto's old teacher, Jiraiya.

"Looks like Tsunade wasn't lying…it is really you Yahito and Konan too," Jiraiya said in his deep voice.

"Actually Jiraiya Yahito died…I'm really Nagato in Yahito's body," Pein said showing his Rinnegan eyes to Jiraiya.

The only person that was in shock of this news was Jiraiya considering me and the rest of the Akatsuki already knew who Pein really was. I never called him by his real name because I had grown up calling him Pein and nothing else.

"We will explain later Jiraiya," Konan said from Pein's side.

Jiraiya sighed and said, "Alright," then he looked at me and said, "Nagato is Sakura your sister?"

"Yes she is. Why do you need to know?" He said getting protective.

He gave me a funny look and then snapped his fingers saying, "I knew you looked familiar Sakura. You were that baby Nagato was always carrying around. I always thought that was you but I thought that it was impossible for you to be his sister. Huh…actually this would be a good story line for my next book."

Jiraiya then got out his notebook and started to write. I knew what his books were like but before I could take away his writing book Pein was there in a second and snatched the book out of his hands.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't use me and Sakura for one of your_ novels_," Pein said sounding slightly disgusted.

Jiraiya put his hands up saying, "Hey come on, my next story was going to be a serious one not like any of my other masterpieces."

"Uh huh masterpieces," I said.

Jiraiya ignored my comment and asked me, "So I hear that you are one of the leading generals Sakura. Congratulations. It's also good to see that you have gotten much stronger than the last time I saw you."

I rubbed the back of my head and said, "Well I guess having the Rinnegan also helps quite a bit."

He nodded and looked at Pein and Konan saying, "We'll catch up later, I need to go see Naruto."

And with that he left.

"Hey, un, is that the perverted guy that writes porn?" Deidara asked.

"Yeah I think he was," Kisame said.

As the two chatted on about Jiraiya I looked at my family and gave a smile. Yes I knew war was a bad thing but I had a feeling that it wouldn't be as bad as it could be because we were working together with the other nations. I just hoped none of us would die in the process.

**~Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto just the plot.**

**And there you have it! I really love Jiraiya so I had to have him come in here somewhere since Pein didn't kill him in my story. Tell me what you thought:) and Thank you once again to Ebeth who gave me the Tobi good boy Madara bad boy part!**

**Thank you to all that reviewed! Please review again:)**

**Oh and just so you guys know since this is my first year of high school I will be very busy so please be patient with me, thank you!**


	26. Close Encounters

_**Madara's Base**_

Kabuto was just finishing his preparations for his Impure Summons. He had already gotten the needed sacrifices (some ninja from Sound that were _disposable_) and just the past couple of days he got all the bodies he had wanted. Kabuto's eyes lit up as he examined his work. They were perfect in his opinion, and since he had modified the jutsu so that he didn't need to be right next to the bodies to control them he would be completely safe from other ninja's.

_If only Madara would get off my back_, he thought to himself.

Madara was right to not trust Kabuto completely; who would trust Orochimaru's lackey? Kabuto had a plan, and he went through it hundreds and thousands of times to find any faults. He had found none, so when Madara was focused on getting the four targets Kabuto would put his plan into action, making the war go into his favor.

Kabuto smirked that smirk that usually put Kakuzu and even Hidan in edge. He pushed up his glasses and thought.

_Once I put the plan into action I can move Madara aside and kill that little pink haired one for myself. I will avenge you Orochimaru-sama. _

_**Joint Shinobi HQ**_

I was just coming out of another heated meeting with the Kages and the Generals. To say that most of them didn't like the fact that I was a Head General and that the Akatsuki and Ame ninja would be fighting was an understatement.

People of Ame usually never left their tents except to train and eat. The Akatsuki and my tent were next to the Ame ninja's tents and nobody came near that area. The only ninja's that would come around our area were Kohona and Suna ninja. The rest just glared or thought nasty things that would put Hidan to shame.

I sighed and ran a hand through my long hair that was down for the moment, and looked ahead at all the tents next to each other and the ninja conversing around them. We were to go to war tomorrow and this was our last chance to talk to those we cared about in case we or the other died.

"Stressed?"

I looked behind me to see Pein giving me a look of sympathy. I had forgotten that he followed me out of the meeting.

I nodded and gave a weak smile, "You could say that. My main concern is you guys and my Division. They all have seemed to warm up to me, but not Itachi or Kisame yet."

"They will in time," Pein said simply.

"Yeah sure. I'm not too worried about the Akatsuki, I know that they can handle themselves fine…it's just," I sighed again and looked down at the ground, "I don't want to lose anyone."

We were now in front of the Akatsuki's tent when Pein grabbed onto my shoulder from behind and said, "Well you know that Konan and I will be fine since we will be with the other Kages," then mumbled, "I think we could be more helpful in the battlefield," then he said in a clear an deep voice, "the other members will be fine, it's you that I worry about."

I knew why he was worried; he didn't want me to die. I had told Pein my suspicions about Naruto, Sasuke, and me having to be the ones to kill Madara. Pein didn't like that, he silently fumed at me for a while then took his anger out on the forest, which now had a very large dent in it.

"Hey it's okay. I mean if I die or something you could try to get to me in time and revive me. And if I get injured my body will just heal itself. Plus me, Naruto, and Sasuke have impeccable teamwork; we can bring down the Uchiha bastard," I said trying to give him reassurance.

Pein sighed knowing that we had already had this conversation many time. Then he said in a slightly deafeated voice, "If you die I will bring you back and kick your ass and that Uzumaki and Uchiha boy's asses as well."

I smiled up at my brother and gave him a quick hug, then turned around to the tent. As I opened it I said, back still turned, "And Pein have you talked to Jiraiya yet?"

"Yes, we have cleared things up," Pein said in return.

I gave a nod and went into the tent to see Deidara making his explosives, Sasori fine tuning his puppets, Kisame drinking sake, and surprisingly Itachi and Sasuke talking. Ever since Sasuke had found out the truth he and Itachi tried to patch up their relationship so that it could be what it was like when they were younger. And so far they were doing a pretty good job.

When the noticed me walk in Sasori and Deidara gave me nods, Kisame said, "Hey there Blossom," and Itachi and Sasuke both smirked and nodded. Those two were kind of creepy when they did that. Ever since they started to make up they seemed to do the same things at the same time. _Weird_.

"Hi," I said back to Kisame.

I then walked over to Itachi and Sasuke to see what they were talking about, probably Uchiha stuff as usual.

I stood on the tips of my toes and asked, "What cha guys talking about?"

Itachi and Sasuke both looked at me at the same time, Itachi with a small actual _smile_ on his face Sasuke with his usual smirk in place. "Nothing just battle plans for our Division," Itachi said.

I knew what he meant now. Itachi, Sasuke, Kisame and Naruto were out into my Division because the other Kages thought that I could keep an eye on them the best. Plus my Division was the "Special" Unit, or just a Division for people with strange and abnormal powers. I really wasn't surprised when I found out that was to be my Division.

"Well I am you Division _and_ Head General so I think that I have a right to know what certain plans you two Uchiha are making. If my guess is correct, which it usually is, it is probably something stupid or reckless that will get you both within an inch of your lives," I said face palming myself at the end.

"What makes you think that we would do that Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

I gave him the are-you-serious-look and said, "Well I can't even count how many stupid things you did with Naruto on missions. You and Naruto are the ones I'm going to have to worry about considering that Itachi here," I said pointing to Itachi, "can actually think rationally and not make things a competition."

Sasuke huffed at my statement and said, "Hn." Ha, he knew I was right.

"Happy to see that you trust me Sakura," Itachi said with a glint in his eyes, something that I just couldn't tell which emotion it was.

"Well I'm glad that most people in my Division trust us that's good and-" I was cut off by yelling from the front of the tent when I heard, "SAKURA-CHAN! I WAS LOOKING _EVERYWHERE_ FOR YOU!"

By the time Naruto was done shouting he had me in a hug that I just stood there for, simmering down my slight anger. Kisame was laughing as was Deidara, Itachi, Sasuke, and Sasori were glaring and then Pein walked over to us (Naruto was still hugging me).

"Please refrain from touching my sister every time you see her Naruto-san," Pein said sounding perfectly polite, but of course behind it was a threatening tone.

Then Pein grabbed Naruto by the collar and set him a little roughly on the ground. I giggled a bit and helped Naruto up giving him my hand He took it with a smile, unfazed by Pei's earlier words.

"In the future Naruto try not to piss off my brother who could kill you in a second literally," I said giving him an amused look.

He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Whatever you say Sakura-chan."

"Hey dobe," Sasuke said from besides Naruto.

"Teme," Naruto said.

Sasuke glared at Naruto and before Sasuke could retaliate Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and said, "Still the foolish little brother that can't stand a little nickname?"

Sasuke then huffed and crossed his arms.

I then looked at Itachi to my right side and said, "I guess we're the parents today right Tachi?"

He gave me blank look with amusement in his eyes, "We will probably keep on doing this for the rest of our lives if this keeps up."

I poked his chest and then said, "Eyes feeling better?"

"Yes, it had been quite a while since I could see this well. Years even."

I smiled up at him happy to know that my daily healing sessions were working.

"Wait why is she healing your eyes brother?" Sasuke asked slightly confused.

"Hn," was Itachi's answer. Sasuke nodded seeming to get it. Like I said before _weird_.

Then behind us I heard an explosion. Sasuke, Itachi, and me turned around (Itachi stood slightly in front of me and Sasuke behind me) to see that half of our tent had been blown out.

Pein was by my side quickly, metal pole at the ready as was Sasori and Kisame behind me. But where were Deidara and Naruto?

As the smoke cleared I activated my Rinnegan so that I could see better through the smoke and saw both Deidara and Naruto laying on the ground rubbing at their heads.

I ran forwards towards them, ignoring Pein, Itachi, and Sasori's sounds of protest and went to see if they were alright. As I approached them they were sitting up and coughing, neither seemed hurt so I would hold off on the healing for now.

"What the hell happened?" I asked trying to keep my voice calm.

Now both Naruto and Deidara were up glaring at each other, hands on hips and I could feel the lighting going between them.

I stepped forward and went right in the middle of them when Pein said as he and the others came, "What happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," I told Pein.

"You baka, un! Why the hell did you take my C2 bird?" Deidara yelled at Naruto hurting my ears.

"Hey I saw something next to the tent and I panicked! So I I thought a bomb would get it away!" Naruto yelled back.

I put my hands on both of their mouths, making them blush a little, and said in a slow voice, "What did you see Naruto?"

My hand left both of their lips when they calmed down, and then Naruto sighed and said, "Someone that kind of looked like a plant I think that I have-"

He was cut off by a sudden flare in chakra. I turned around to see Zetsu materializing out of the ground right behind me. And before I could activate my Rinnegan again he came out of ground fully, kunai pointed at my neck.

I felt Deidara and Naruto tense behind me, and the two Uchiha's, Kisame, Sasori, Pein, and Konan slowly moving towards me and Zetsu, or as I like to call him the Venuses Fly Trap from Hell.

"Sakura…nice to see you and the Akatsuki, **but not really,**" both his dark and light side said.

I glared at him, activated the Rinnegan as the kunai got closer to my neck and said, "Let's get to the catch shall we? What are you doing here Zetsu? Are you Madara's messenger boy now? "

Zetsu growled and brought the kunai closer to my neck, creating a thin line of blood running down my neck. But I wasn't scared, he wouldn't kill me since Madara needed me alive.

"Zetsu release her now," Pein growled now behind Zetsu, metal pole pointed at his back.

Zetsu started to laugh a maniac's laugh and said, "Looks like none of you change. You forget Pein I am not part of your Akatsuki anymore, **you are weak**. And little Sakura, **demon spawn from hell**, Madara just has a simple proposition for you."

I wasn't interested in anything Madara wanted me to do, and I slowly started to gather chakra into my eyes and said, "Run back and tell your _master_, that he can shove whatever he wants me to do up his immortal ass. _Push._"

Zetsu was pushed backwards and was heading straight into Pein's pole until he sunk into the ground and disappeared without a trace. I then touched my neck to see that the hole had closed up but there was still some fresh blood on my neck.

"Sakura-chan are you alright?" Naruto said running up to me, but someone beat him there. Itachi stood behind me a hand on my back and said in my ear, "What did his mind say Sakura?"

Itachi somehow knew that while Zetsu was talking I gave his mind a scan and saw what Madara's proposal was. Quiet enough to where only Itachi could hear me I said, "Madara wanted me and you to come to him, then he said he would stop the war. I highly doubt that though."

He nodded behind me as Naruto and Pein came near, but still kept a hand on my lower back. "Are you alright?" Pein asked me, his worry showing.

I nodded and pointed to my neck, "See cut already healed, don't be such a worrier Pein."

He sighed and just shook his head at me and then I said to Naruto, "Oh and I think Deidara owes you an apology for yelling at him."

Naruto grinned at this and started to bicker with Deidara, who was still next to the side of the tent that got blown off.

I gave the tent a one over and saw through the blown out half that we had gotten company. Some Ame ninja and Shikamaru were there with looks of tense worry on their faces.

"Is Sakura-sama alright Deidara-sama?" one of the Ame ninja asked.

Deidara looked at me, I nodded, and then he reassured the other Ame nin and Shikamaru as well. I said to them, "Don't you have something other than staring at me to do?"

Shikamaru coughed a bit and said, "Yes, but as you know preparing for war is such a drag." And with that he led the 7 Ame nin away from our blown off tent.

I rubbed a hand behind my head and looked towards Pein and the others. "So I guess that I will get someone to clean up here and get another tent. Pein will you come with me to report Zetsu, because you know that the other Kages will want to know what the disturbance was," I said my voice light.

Pein nodded and we headed out. Itachi and the others started talking, probably about what had just happened. Whatever they were talking about I could only hope that this wouldn't distract them from the war tomorrow.

_**Next day: Joint Shinobi Force HQ**_

Today was the day. The day that bloodshed and death would start, the day that people would lose loved ones, the day that people would lose their lives. War was never a pretty thing, ever.

I stood tall next to the other Generals, Gaara to my right and Kakashi to my left with the Kages behind us, and looked down at all the brave ninja below us. They were all lined up and had looks of determination on their faces, they knew what they had to do for freedom. And I was proud of them.

Gaara and me were now to give our final speech to everyone so Gaara started by saying, "Today we are not Suna, Ame, Kohona, or Kiri. Today we are a Joint Shinobi Force, all equal and all fighting for freedom from Madara."

"Look at those around you and remember they are your comrade," I said giving them a steely look, "These are the people you will trust with your lives. You are all one Shinobi Force, and you all must trust each other, because without that trust Madara will come out on top."

Gaara crossed his arms and said, "Though it may seem like this war is to protect four people it is not only that. It is to protect you family, home, and freedom."

"So as you fight today remember there can be no peace without suffering. Let's end this suffering and go into a world of peace by defeating Madara and his troops!" I shouted down at this. The response was loud crowds of people cheering and saying, "We will win!" or "I'm gunna kick that Madara's ass!"

I smiled at them and then looked towards Gaara for him to go on and he said, "Now the Ambush Division move out!"

At this Kankuro and his men took off towards the direction that our sensors had found Madara's base. Deidara flew into the air and gave me a mock salute which I returned.

Tsunade then shouted, "Remember this day, and remember day and remember your loved ones!"

All the ninja shouted in response. I then looked towards my division my Special Abilities and saw Itachi, Kisame, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji standing near each other waiting for orders. I smiled down at them which they returned with their own smiles.

I looked towards Gaara and he nodded. "Divisions 1 and 3 move out!" I yelled.

Kakashi and Darui told commands to their Divisions and then left but not without Kakashi saying to me, "Good luck Sakura." I smiled at him letting him know I heard.

"Divisions 6 and 5 move out!" Gaara yelled then said, "Divisions 2 and 4 await further information from the Intel Division for when you can come out," Gaara finished.

We both looked at each other and nodded heading to the front of our Divisions. I landed next to Itachi and Naruto and said, "Division 6 move out!"

As we ran next to Gaara's Division I put my pink hair up with senbons and prayed to Kami that this would end well for us.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Just the plot.**

**And there ya go! Okay so I want to thank the two viewers who pointed out that I spelled Kohona wrong. I'M SO VERY SORRY FOR THAT, I guess that I'm just kinda stupid sometimes.**

**Thanks to all that reviewed and review once again please with ideas if you have any to give :) Oh and just to let you have an easier guess on the paring it is NOT with Sasuke! He is just a good friend to her now :)**


	27. War Has Begun

_**Battlefield**_

The scene that I was met with was horror. People were dying left and right, the enemy was relentlessly attacking, and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. The only thing I could do was heal those that could be saved and fight.

When we entered the battlefield I heard many people, including Naruto and Kisame, take sharp intakes of breath. This was war where there were victims, liars, leaders, and death. Even if I died I knew that I would do everything in my power to stop this war as quickly as possible.

There were White Zetsu's everywhere along with powerful, _dead_ criminals running about killing everything in sight but at the same time trying to regain control of their body.

"Good Luck," Gaara said besides me as he gathered up his sand and went off into the battle. I nodded as I gave him a serious look.

I stopped and looked behind me to see my Division waiting for orders. All these brave men and women were willing to die and they expected me to lead them. It finally hit me that maybe I could be leading them to their deaths or their friends deaths. But now was not to think of such things, I had people to lead and lead them I was going to.

"Everyone fan out! Help those who need it and keep a close eye on the Impure Summons. GO!" I shouted at my Shinobi as they scattered.

I went out to fight, my katana out and Rinnegan activated. I knew that I had to do my best for everyone since I was an Amekage, General, and a leader. So with a battle cry I leapt down on a pack of 20 Zetsus, punching and slicing my way through them. With those out of the way I was able to focus on my Rinnegan abilities so that I could help my men that were in close combat with the Zetsus.

As I used my 'push' and 'pull' techniques the enemy's numbers started to dwindle.

_We're doing pretty good, don't you think so demon? _I thought to my demon.

'**Yes you are vessel, but you would be more powerful with my power and you know it' **it taunted.I knew that it could give me more power but that wasn't right, it would only end hurting more people. That's only if I couldn't control it though.

"Sakura-chan behind you!" Naruto yelled at me.

I turned and immediately sliced through a White Zetsu but not without the Zetsu clawing at my side leaving a deep gash. I hissed at the pain as the Zetsu fell to the ground and tried to heal myself…but I couldn't.

_Damn Madara, he must've found a way to make the White Zetsus attacks unable to heal. That explains why I could barely heal those earlier that were getting hit by the Zetsus.  
_

I put some bandage around it and got up once again ignoring my bleeding side as if it was a small bug bite. Then I had an idea about how to get rid of all the dead criminals.

"Gaara I need you to get everybody back and cover them with the sand now!" I shouted at him from across the battlefield. He nodded and started to order everyone to move back and the people that heard me shout earlier were already on their way back.

When I saw that everyone was back (Kisame, Naruto, and Sasuke were being held back by Gaara's sand right now the bakas) I saw that at least seven of the most dangerous criminals were standing in front of me getting ready to attack. I focused all my chakra into my eyes, but it wasn't enough chakra even with the piercings to help. Without the needed chakra I would be dead in two seconds with what I was trying to do.

I was about to merge with my demon but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I looked behind me to see Itachi with his hands on my shoulder. I was about to tell him to get back but he said, "You need chakra don't you? Take some of mine."

I looked into his red eyes and nodded giving him a small smile. I turned back around, with Itachi's hands still on me, and started to gather chakra from him. Now having enough I focused it all onto my eyes and put my hands out in front of me. Just as the Impure Summons were about to attack I focused on their spirits.

And I pulled them out of their bodies absorbing them.

All of them stopped dead and fell to the ground as their souls were sucked inside of me. I felt a sensation of power but I kept it under lock and key, making sure that I would release the souls later when the bodies were gone so that they could finally be put to rest.

Now with the battlefield littered with dead White Zetsus, Impure Summons, and our Shinobi, Gaara let down the sand and let the ninja that survived out from the sand blockade.

"You did well Sakura," Itachi said from beside my ear. I was about to reply when a dizzy spell came over me making me fall into his strong arms.

"Are you alright?" Itachi said with a worried tone, still holding me close to his own body.

I put a hand on my head and said, "I think that I absorbed too many souls at once, that's probably why. But I'm fine…you just need to support me for a while until I can stand on my own. Is that okay Itachi?"

He gave me a warm smirk and said, "Of course."

As he held me up the Shinobi all came running toward the two of us with questioning looks on their faces. Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke were the first to arrive considering that they traveled on Gaara's sand to get to me and Itachi.

"What happened Sakura-chan? Are you and Uchiha alright?" Naruto asked, his voice laced with worry.

I nodded and said, "We're fine, but it's over…for now."

"What exactly did you do Sakura?" Gaara inquired with a curious voice.

Itachi held me slightly closer after Gaara said this making me stare at him funny before I answered Gaara. With a tired voice I said, "I sucked out their souls with the Human Path."

The three boys gave me a weird look, and then they went back to normal knowing that I did what I did to get the job done.

"Well I'm glad you didn't die in the process," Gaara said putting a hand on my shoulder, his way of a hug.

"Agreed," Sasuke said from besides Naruto.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

Gaara sighed and said, "Our men have taken quiet a beating, I think that we should get Divisions 2 and 4 to come out and help the Ambush squad while we take everyone back." I nodded and we started to walk back while the sensors in our Divisions told Intel that they could send out Divisions 2 and 4.

Everyone was supporting everyone as we walked, and the more seriously injured were rushed back to base by our fastest and strongest ninja. Gaara and I walked in front of everyone leading the way. And by our side was Itachi (who was still holding me), Naruto and Sasuke (who were eerily quiet), and Kisame who had a grave look on his face. Overall practically everyone was either upset, grave, or just plain tired from fighting the Impure Summons and all of the White Zetsus.

It was only the first day of war and many good men and women already were killed.

_I hope that this war doesn't last too long. There are ninja here younger than me who are seeing to many horrors, they are just too young…we all are for something this horrible, _I thought to myself as I looked ahead and Itachi pulled me up a little bit more.

Then I heard a dark chuckle in my mind and the demon said, **'You and your friends have no **_**idea**_** what you are getting yourselves into vessel, no idea at all…but remember I'm just a call away' **she finished laughing once again to herself in a way that could send shivers down the strongest ninja's spine.

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: With Pein**_

Things were chaotic at HQ. Intel Division was relaying information from the battlefield; the Kages (including myself) kept shouting orders at others, and with the new wave of injured coming in it was starting to get worse in the Medical Division.

When we had just gotten word about the Ambush we sent out, we were slightly uneasy; though we seemed to have the advantage at the point. Deidara had killed most of the White Zetsus with his new and improved bombs that stopped the use of chakra when it hit someone or something, giving them a major advantage over the enemy. I was proud of how my Akatsuki and Ame ninjas were doing, but I couldn't help but think of Sakura and her Division.

She was my younger sister after all so of course I would worry about her, but she was also rash and did anything to save those she loved. I wished that she didn't inherit those traits from me, believe it or not I'm quiet the compassionate person when I want to be (I'm just good at hiding it). The way she fought was also similar to my own style except she used the techniques that the Hokage taught her, along with the things Itachi had taught her as well.

Itachi. He had been slightly on my nerves for a while now. He seemed to be getting closer to my sister, I have nothing against the man, I only have respect, but Sakura has and always will be my first and only concern (with the exception of my Konan of course). Sakura had indeed become a women when I wasn't looking; she was only 18 but her heart and mind were wise and strong. I just didn't want her to get hurt.

If she also had feelings for the Akatsuki member then I would respect it, but of course I would be watching them like a hawk. And then there was the little Uchiha.

That Sasuke Uchiha irked me and I didn't like him, not one bit. Sakura seemed to be friends with the boy, but like his brother Sasuke also seemed to harbor some kind of feelings for my sister. I knew that Sakura was still slightly angry at him for what he did to her, like leaving her on the bench or trying to kill her. I was going to kill that Uchiha shrimp but she stopped me telling me that it was bad for relations with Konoha. I had a feeling that she only wanted friendship with the younger Uchiha, nothing more.

"That sister of mine is going to end up making me crazy," I mumbled to myself while sighing and putting a hand to my head.

None of the other Kages noticed my exasperated face, but Konan as always did. She put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up from me seat to see her giving me a small smile. "If you are worrying about Sakura, don't. She will be fine; the fact that she is as strong as you and has Kisame and Itachi with her makes her all the safer. You're going to get that pretty face of yours wrinkles."

I gave her a blank look but my eyes portrayed that I was happy with her comforting and I said, "Thank you Konan." She smiled at me, but then a man from the Intel Division came running into the Kage room, making us all turn our heads to him.

He took a moment to catch his breath then the Hokage said, "What information do you have?"

He looked at her straight in the eye and said, "The two head generals' Divisions are heading back. They destroyed all of the Impure Summons that were the dead criminals, as well as their share of the White Zetzu things. Some of them just got back, the injured ones, and the rest are on the way. We just sent Divisions 2 and 4 to help out for the Ambush and Division 1."

We all nodded and he headed out of the room.

"How were they able to kill all of them that fast?" the Tsuchikage asked.

I had a feeling that I knew what happened, so I stood up and said, "I have a feeling that Sakura and her Special Division had something to do with it." I then walked to the door, and without asking the other Kages (like I need their _permission_) I walked out the door, Konan following me, and went to the entrance where my little sister would be; hopefully alright.

_**Joint Shinobi HQ: With Sakura**_

I was getting more energy as we neared the gate, but I still had to lean on Itachi, just not as much as before.

Everyone was tired and needed to rest before they went back out. I trusted that Kakashi and his Division were doing well, and Deidara and the Ambush Division I bet were doing even better considering Deidara's new bombs. And to think that Naruto was the one to come up with the idea for those.

As we trudged up the dirt path, with our heads held high, I noticed that the tensions with everyone from this morning were now all gone. Every single shinobi knew that everyone had each other's back and that no one would leave a man behind. I was proud of how Gaara and my men acted today, looks like they actually listened to that speech. To be honest I just winged it while Gaara already knew what he was going to say…as usual.

I sighed slightly to myself making Itachi give me a strange look. I waved him off with a hand and smile, knowing that we could talk later.

"Hey! Look there's HQ," Naruto shouted loudly.

"Dobe," Sasuke huffed. I had to admit that Naruto was pretty loud.

"Teme," Naruto grumbled back.

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Freakin Idiot."

"Emo corner guy."

"Oh will you two just shut up for once, you're giving me a headache," I growled at them putting a hand to my head, "I swear you two are like little girls and I have to be the peace keeper. Do you not realize what is going on around you?"

"Of course we know Sakura," Sasuke said.

"We just do this to lighten up the situation," Naruto finished.

"Do that on your own time," Itachi said, "giving your head general and friend a headache is something that I believe is not the best idea."

"Agreed," Kisame said as he came up to my side, "Squirt here is scary when she gets headaches."

"And usually you and Deidara are the ones that give them to me. And now these two idiots over here," I said pointing at Sasuke and Naruto.

"Hey!" They shouted at the same time.

I was about to jump from Itachi to them but Gaara spoke and said, "Stop fighting, were at the entrance."

I looked to see that he was right and there was two people walking towards us, with blue and orange hair and that could only be Pein and Konan. And now that we were in their sights they started running towards to only arrive in moments.

Gaara, Itachi (which means me too), Kisame, Naruto, and Sasuke stopped in front of Pein and Konan while Gaara and I told our men to move ahead.

Pein looked at me with a calculating gaze, but his eyes and mind showed that he wanted to question me on how I got hurt and then take my place; me sitting around with the other Kages while he went off and fought. He knew that wasn't going to happen though.

He sighed and looked at me straight in the eye and said in a deep voice, "I heard what happened with the Kazekage and your Divisions. What did you do?"

_Of course he thinks it was me_, I mentally sighed and sweat dropped.

I stood up slightly taller, still leaning on Itachi, and said, "I love how you think that it was me dear brother. But as usual…your right."

"What did you do Sakura?" he asked again.

I now started to awkwardly rub the back of my head and said, "I used that, um, soul sucking technique thing."

"You used the advance Human Path didn't you," Pein said shaking his head slightly.

I shrugged and said, "Uh-huh."

"You know that we can only use that technique perfectly together. Alone neither of us can do it without consequences," Pein said.

"Wait, consequences?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"I thought nothing would happen, Sakura," Itachi stated.

I sighed, ignored them, looked at Pein and said, "Look Pein, I know that we wouldn't have had any chance at defeating the enemy without about 65 or more casualties on our side. I couldn't allow that, especially when I knew that I could do something about it."

"But you know how much chakra drainage that gives you, and the cut on your side seems to have not healed, meaning Zetsu was using one of his canceling techniques again."

"Chakra drainage is something I can deal with, and anyways Konan can help heal me right?"

Konan gave me a small smile and said, "Of course Sakura."

"See all good Pein, all I need is Konan's healing and then some rest to regain chakra," I said trying to keep my voice light so that I could not show him how much my side was hurting.

"Fine…but after you give an official report to the Kages we will talk," Pein said his voice full of authority.

"Of course brother," I said as I nudged Itachi so that we and the rest of us started to move forward.

_**(5 hours later)**_

After Gaara and I gave our report Itachi and Kisame took me to our tent, along with Konan (who healed me) and Pein who was watching me like a hawk. After that I freed the souls that were inside of me. Then I went to sleep, and now I had just woken up after another nightmare about Madara killing everyone I hold dear, the bastard.

"Sakura, how are you?"

I sat up from my bed, pulling the covers back slightly by doing so, seeing that there was only bandages wrapped around my bare body and my hair was let down. And as I looked up I saw Pein sitting in a chair next to my bed. He must have pulled it up and watched over me while I slept, aww he's so sweet.

I groggily rubbed at my eyes and said, "How long have you been there and what time is it?"

"I have been here for the four hours you have slept and it is well into the night," he said, his voice tinged with sleep.

I gave him a smirk and put a hand on his shoulders saying, "Pein why haven't you slept, you look like you need it."

He gave me a look that said are-you-kidding-me and said, "Sorry if I'm worried about my little sister who could die in her sleep."

I sighed and ran a hand through my long pink hair. He was right that it was a possibility that I could die in my sleep because of the Human Path that I used. When Pein and I use it together the chakra spread is even, making it less of a danger to us both, but when we do it separately we risk using too much chakra thus being more vulnerable to die in our sleep. Pein has told me that this happened to others who had the Rinnegan many years ago, but I wasn't worried.

"I'm sorry Pein, but you know me. I just know that we would have lost many good ninja today and I knew that I could prevent that from happening. Can you blame me for wanting to keep others alive by killing the enemy with one of the few techniques that can kill Impure Summons?"

He raised his eyes to my level and said, "Of course not. Granted I'm upset that you could have almost died…I know that I would've done the same thing in your position for those that I care about."

I smiled and punched him softly in the shoulder and said, "See, I knew you would see things my way."

He gave me a grin that was suddenly wiped off his face by a more stern and morose look. "Sakura…I could have lost you today. I know that as long as this war goes on the possibility of you dying is there, and I don't think I can stand to lose anyone else. Our parents and Yahito is enough…I don't think I could bear anymore loss," he finished putting his head down.

This was one of the _very_ rare times that Pein would show his vulnerable side to me, and I respected and loved him more for it. It was not good for him to always be so stoic and distant, it just wasn't healthy. He needed to vent more often, and when he actually did vent it was only to me or Konan. This side of my brother was one that pained me and knew that I had to find some way to make him feel better; I shouldn't be causing him this much worry.

"Nagato," I said using his real name, which he responded to by picking his head up fast, "I know that this war is taking a toll on you, it's only the first day and none of us can stand all this meaningless fighting and killing. But I will be alright; I have Itachi, Naruto, Kisame, and Sasuke to protect me, as well as the men from Ame and Gaara. They will always watch out for me no matter what. And I'm practically as strong as you are, so no need to worry about me being weak," I said with a light tone.

Then I grabbed both of his shoulders and brought him into a tight hug, he wrapped his arms around me slowly and squeezed hard. "Nagato, we will always be here for each other. I know we will so don't always keep everything locked up from me and the others…it will only hurt you and me more."

He gave me another tight squeeze and said, "I love you Sakura, if you ever leave I _will_ bring you back."

I gave a small laugh and said, "Same here."

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto just the plot.**

**THE WAR HAS STARTED! And of course there will be your romance an heart break in there as well:)**

**Tell me what you think with your REVIEWS!**

**P.S. Thank you to all those that have reviewed or subscribed!**


	28. Hanzo

_**Battlefield**_

It didn't take too long for me to recover completely, so that my Division and I could head off into the battle field again. Deidara and Kankuro decided to put aside their differences and fought together, making our Ambush Division come on top while Madara's fell. Madara's Ambush was only made up of White Zetsus, which led my brother and I to think that he was trying to trick the Kages into thinking that those were the only things he had to fight for him; they weren't of course.

The Kages kept shouting order after order, and HQ had become tenser because of Zetsu's ability to change into others and copy their chakra patterns. Kisame was the first to notice because of his high sensitivity to chakra, and he destroyed all the Zetsu's disguised as our ninja in HQ. Now the need for excellent sensors had become great and HQ was, and still is, in a sketchy situation.

My own Special Forces Division, as we have been dubbed, has been fighting nonstop for three days now, with me healing and bashing heads in between. It was tiring, but since Kisame, Naruto, and I had a surplus amount of chakra we kept going strong. And having two Uchiha's as well helps of course.

"Gaara, to your left!" I shouted as I saw a White Zetsu come out of nowhere and into Gaara's blindside. He grunted and slashed it with sand, knocking it into a tree. I delivered the final blow by using my _Pull _technique and stabbing the White Zetsu with my katana.

I looked Gaara's way to see if he needed any more help, he signaled he didn't, so I ran off to heal our injured men. My demon's chakra had become of more use because it had healing properties to it, which is why I am able to heal myself without really trying.

I was saving those that could be saved and hide them deep in the forest where the enemy wouldn't find them. Making sure that everyone was faring, well I jumped off into the trees, back to the battlefield.

I saw Kisame and Itachi working in tandem against dead Kages. Kabuto had brought back the most powerful Kages, except the Hokages, and led them straight to us. Itachi and Kisame were attacking the Kage from Rock, and I saw Naruto helping anyone he could with his now controlled Kyuubi form, and Sasuke aiding Gaara who was fighting his father.

I was about to go and help them when I heard sensed a large chakra signature behind me. I turned around, my katana protectively in front of me, and saw the man who had taken away so many lives all those years ago; Hanzo.

This man had help start the Third Shinobi War, had indirectly caused the death of my parents, worked with Danzo (the man responsible for my demon), ruined my brother's life by _making_ him kill his best friend, and was all around a bastard.

"You look familiar, pink-haired one…what is your name," Hanzo asked.

I glared at him as the wind picked up making my long hair flow with it, my Rinnegan eyes burning and grounded out, "Sakura Kuroyoi, sister to Nagato Kuroyoi, and leader, with my brother, of Ame. You should remember these eyes, my brother has these eyes, and wasn't he the one that killed you, Hanzo?"

He looked at me closer and had a look of fear in his beady eyes. Unable to move due to Kabuto, he only started at me in fear and said, "Yes I remember those eyes; those damned eyes took everything away from me!"

And with that Kabuto took control of his actions, and Hanzo pulled out a kunai and attacked me. I put my katana up against his kunai and glared at him. He then went back and he yelled, "I will not be killed by those eyes again! Summoning Technique Ibus."

There was great blast of smoke and the ground shook. As the smoke cleared a giant salamander appeared with Hanzo on top it. I smirked a bit and yelled, "Fine if it's a summoning battle you want then it is a summoning battle you will get. Summoning Technique: Ryuu, Animal Path!"

I was now on top of Ryuu with Pein's Multi-Headed Dog next me growling. This had taken a lot of chakra out of me, but my demon helped replenish some of my chakra. My demon and I had come to an understanding; she helps me and I don't die which in turn means it doesn't die. It's a win, win…I guess.

The look of shock on the face of not only Hanzo, but everyone on the ground was priceless. They stared in awe of my blue dragon, which was now slightly floating off the ground, and my Multi-Headed Dog that had the eyes of the Rinnegan. My hair blew in the wind again as I twirled my katana around a bit, getting ready for whatever Kabuto was going to make Hanzo do.

"Sakura, you seem to have yourself in a fix again. Can you tell me why there is a snarling dog right next to me with your eyes?" Ryuu asked his voice deep.

I shrugged and said, "That's my brother's summon he taught me to use. And it won't be as bad as it was with Orochimaru, so come on and let's get moving already!" I shouted at Ryuu.

He snickered and said, "That's the little kid I know."

And with that he flew towards Hanzo's salamander and blew fire at it. The fire hit effectively burning the Summon. Hanzo screamed in rage and told his salamander to attack. It shot out its infamous Poison Mist at me, but I yelled to the Dog Summon, "Move in front of it now!"

The dog obeyed and jumped in front of the purple mist. "Why would you sacrifice your own summon, you stupid girl!" Hanzo yelled at me from atop the salamander.

I smirked and said slowly, "Watch."

He did and to his horror and my happiness, the dog split in half and then formed together again with an extra head. And this is why this is my favorite Summon of Pein's.

"Impossible!" Hanzo shouted in disbelief.

"I highly doubt that," I said. Then Ryuu blasted more fire at the salamander, and I added some of my Sakura Petals to it creating a fire twisting with razor sharp petals. The petal and fire hit Hanzo and the salamander, and as they hit Hanzo he screamed in pain as well as his Summon.

"Ryuu, fly to Hanzo…I think it's time to go head to head," I said to Ryuu.

"Whatever you say kid, hang on," Ryuu said as he flew fast towards a scorched Hanzo and salamander. I held onto Ryuu and prepared to jump off of him, and when I did I landed gracefully on top of the salamander's head facing Hanzo.

I then shouted to Ryuu and the Dog Summon, "Help the other's down there! I will call for you if I need you."

Ryuu nodded and the dog growled in consent as they headed off, leaving me and Hanzo alone to fight atop his salamander.

"I underestimated you girl," Hanzo said as he spit out some blood, "you are truly related to the man that killed me, that damned brother of yours. Where is he I wonder? Probably getting killed."

I growled at him and said harshly, "My brother is not very easy to kill, same goes for me. It's not like how it was all those years ago when you hid behind those bodyguards of yours, it's just you and me."

He laughed that sinister laugh, and I could swear that it was Kabuto's voice now as he said, "Don't be so sure of that Sakura-chan."

Then out of nowhere a horde of at two dozen White Zetsus came out from behind Hanzo and looked at me with killing intent. I could handle Hanzo, but with all of these Zetsus…I wasn't so sure.

_Let's hope this isn't my last battle, _I thought.

'**For once I agree with you Saku,' **my demon said from the back of my mind.

I took a deep breath and braced my katana. As I was about to run forward I heard two people land behind me. I stopped mid-attack as I saw the surprise on Hanzo's face and turned around to see my two best friends, Naruto and Sasuke.

"You look like you need some help Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he came to stand next to me.

"The dobe's right for once," Sasuke said as he came up to my right.

The two of them looked battle worn, with cuts and bruises on their bodies (same with me), but they still were powerful. I smiled at them and said, "Looks like all of our teamwork training is finally going to pay off guys. Thanks."

"Who are you two?" Hanzo asked, no longer voiced by Kabuto.

I smirked and said, "Remember the three leaf ninjas you fought all those years ago, the ones you named sannins. Well, we are the three who were taught by each of them, me Tsunade," I said.

"Jiraiya trained me," Naruto said.

"And Orochimaru trained me," Sasuke said finishing up.

Hanzo chuckled a bit then said, "Let's see if you can match up to your teacher's names."

With those words said Hanzo and the White Zetsus launched forward at us. I had my katana out and Rinnegan was ablaze, Naruto summoned clones to go and fight off the Zetsus while he himself started to create a large Rasengan, and Sasuke had his Shaningan on with that electricity already chirping in his hands.

"Let's go!," Naruto shouted.

I smiled and Sasuke did his 'Hn' and we attacked. To anyone looking we would be a blur of orange, pink, and blue. We worked in harmony as we slashed through the enemy of White Zetsus while Hanzo stood behind them, like the coward he was. Sasuke was slashing the Zetsus with lighting while Naruto was using his Rasengan, kunai, and clone to attack, and I used my katana and Rinnegan.

We flipped over each other as we finished off the White Zetsus, me delivering the final blow with a chakra infused fist that sent the last Zetsu into oblivion.

The look on Hanzo's face was one of anger and horror as he said, "You are even better than your masters…but they did not defeat me." With that he came forward at us with a fire technique that Sasuke blocked.

"You really want to use a fire technique on an Uchiha…baka," Sasuke said as he charged his own katana with lighting.

"Worth a try," Hanzo said, then he released poison form his mouth at us. We jumped high to avoid the poisonous mist only to be hit by a fire ball. All three of us fell to the ground shakily on our feet.

"You are all tired from fighting the White Zetsus, you have no chance at beating me," Hanzo said with a pride filled voice.

I wiped some blood off the side of my mouth and said, "Who said that we can't?"

And with that Naruto and Sasuke rushed Hanzo backwards right into my trap. Hanzo was hit with Rasengan and Chidori, and then was shot to the back of his salamander's head. I then used my chakra strings I created, something I learned from Sasori, and attached them to Hanzo then pulled him towards me and used my Human Path to suck out his soul.

But before I completely took his soul Kabuto spoke through Hanzo and said, "You and your friends are strong Sakura-chan…but not strong enough for what is to come." With a final smirked his body went limp and his eyes closed.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he came up beside me, Sasuke following closely behind.

I sighed, and ran a hand through my long hair and said, "Yeah just tired from the two summoning, using the Human Path, and fighting nonstop for three days. You know, the usual."

Naruto laughed and put a hand on my shoulder, "Yeah that sounds right."

"Seems like this battle his finally over," Sasuke said as he looked down from the salamander. I looked and saw that Ryuu and the Multi-Headed Dog had helped everyone greatly and the sealers had sealed all of the Impure Summons souls.

I then noticed something strange, Hanzo was dead but his salamander was still here. "…Hey guys I think we should get off this thing quick," I said in a hurried voice.

"Why Sakura-chan? Noth-"Naruto said but was cut off as the salamander poofed away and now the three of us were falling in midair.

"Why can't we ever get a break!" I yelled as we fell faster.

I then felt strong arms wrap around my petite frame and looked up to see Sasuke holding me from behind while Naruto held me from the front.

We then landed on something hard and blue, which could only mean that Ryuu had caught us. We landed with a hard thump, me still in between Naruto and Sasuke, as Ryuu said, "You are going to get yourself killed one of these days little girl."

Ryuu then landed on the ground in front of Gaara, Kakashi, and my Divisions. Sasuke and Naruto untangled themselves from me and we just lied on our backs for a while on top of Ryuu, breathing hard.

"Just like old times," I said with a small smile.

"Got-that-right-Sakura-chan," Naruto said from in between breathes.

"Not a bad thing though," Sasuke said.

I nodded and said in between breaths, "Not a-bad thing at all."

When we all caught our breaths and our adrenaline ran down, we helped each other off Ryuu and landed on the ground, still somewhat shaky. We then walked to Ryuu's head and said thank you. I rubbed his nose and said, "See you later Ryuu."

"Anytime Sakura," Ryuu said then I released him, and in a poof of smoke he was gone.

I sighed and looked behind me to see our ninja beaten and battered but still alive. Itachi, Kisame, Gaara, and Kakashi came forward to Naruto, Sasuke, and me.

I smiled shrewdly and said, "So how were things down here?"

"It was looking bad until those two summons of yours helped," Kakashi said giving us a lazy look.

I then hear a whine behind me and saw that the Multi-headed dog was still there. I then released him and said, "And Pein says I made him soft."

"You did," Itachi said.

I just shrugged and said, "So the White Zetsus have been disposed of and the Impure Summons sealed?"

"Yes," Gaara said.

"Who were you fighting up there kitten. Because from what I saw you were glaring at him a little too hard," Kisame asked form besides Itachi.

"Hanzo," Sasuke said before I could.

"Yeah, that guy was annoying!" Naruto said loudly from besides me. I then smacked him upside the head, not too hard, and said, "You baka."

"How about we head back to HQ? The battle's over here and our men need to recuperate," Kakashi said speaking to Gaara and me.

"Agreed," Gaara said.

"Same here, let's get a move on then and send all able men to run ahead with the injured," I said my voice holding authority now.

"I will tell them," Kakashi said and then he winked at me and said, "And I'm very proud of you Sakura." Then he went off to our ninjas.

I sighed and shook my head slightly at Kakashi's words. He will always be my surrogate father, and me his surrogate daughter.

"Are the three of you alright?" Itachi asked inspecting us with his red eyes.

I turned off my Rinnegan and said, "Yeah just really tired."

"What are talking about Sakura-chan I'm no-"Naruto said but then wavered slightly on his feet due to exaughtstion.

"Yes you are dobe," Sasuke said as he righted Naruto up.

"Teme," Naruto grumbled.

"Come on guys the men are leaving which means we will be taking up the rear," I said as I walked ahead waiting for the others to follow.

"I will go up front with Kakashi, Sakura," Gaara said as his sand brought him up to the front of bulk of ninjas.

"So how did things go with the Rock Kage?" I asked Itachi and Kisame.

Kisame put his Samehada on his shoulder and said, "Me and Itachi took care of him and that dog of yours helped by chomping his arms off. It made things so much easier for us."

"Kisame and I took care of him easily. I have a question for you though Blossom," Itachi inquired to me. I saw that when Itachi called me blossom Naruto and Sasuke stiffened slightly but said nothing. Sasuke just crossed his arms and Naruto put his behind his head.

"What is it Itachi?" I asked.

"That man you faced, Hanzo, was the one that your brother killed correct?" I nodded and he continued, "Are you going to tell Leader-sama about your encounter with him?"

I thought about his words for a second. I was sure that Pein would probably go into a silent rage at first then destroy something, and then Konan would calm him down and be his angel and all. So I smiled and said, "Of course I am, I do have to make a report to Pein and all the other Kages so telling him is inevitable. He will get angry but he will also get over it."

With that we walked and chatted slightly, it was more of Kisame and Naruto talking while Itachi, Sasuke, and I just listened. And half way back home we were joined by Sasori.

"I see that you learned to use my chakra strings," Sasori said as he came up from behind us, shouldering his puppets.

Naruto yelped and said, "How did you get behind us! You're scary!"

I hit him on the head and under my breath said, "You idiot."

"Dobe," Sasuke said as Naruto stood back up and walked again.

I then turned my attention back to Sasori who was now beside me, Itachi was on my other side, and said, "Yeah…when we fought I learned how to use them and in the end they saved me, Naruto, and Sasuke."

"Glad you found use in fighting and killing me," Sasori said in that bored tone of his.

I laughed slightly and said, "Well I'm happy that you're not dead anymore."

"But Deidara isn't," Itachi piped up from my side.

"That is a true statement right there," Kisame said snickering.

"Oh Dei-chan can't help that it. He and Sasori just have a need to fight about art…and now you have to bring Sai into it. Speaking of Sai, where is he?" I asked Sasori.

"He flew some injured men off on that ink bird of his. And he thinks that Deidara and my own art are the same, which they are not," Sasori said.

"Oh shut up about your damn art," Kisame boomed, "I heard it enough back at base and I _really_ don't want to hear about it now."

"Hey there's the gate! I'm going to go check up on Gaara," Naruto said and with that he was off leaving me with Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Sasuke.

"Oh and Itachi I have to heal your eyes, I saw them bleeding earlier and don't even try to lie to me," I said indirectly telling him that I would just scan his thoughts for lie if he even tried it.

He sighed and said, "Fine, Sakura."

"What is wrong with your eyes brother?" Sasuke asked from besides Itachi.

Itachi put up a stony face and said, "Hn." Sasuke nodded and somehow knew what Itachi was saying.

"You two brothers are weird ones," Kisame said, "Always knowing what the other is thinking and what they are trying to say. It took me three years to understand Itachi's language."

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ**_

We went through the gate and Itachi came with me to the Kages to report to them, as did Gaara and Kakashi. Then after I healed Itachi eyes again the two of us headed to the Akatsuki's tent to get some much needed rest.

But before we went in Itachi turned to me and said, "Sakura, I need you to know something."

I slowly turned to face him and said, "What is it Itachi?"

He gave a small barely audible sigh and said, "I heard from leader that you, my brother, and Naruto are going to go after Madara…alone."

I ran a hand through my hair and said, "Yeah that is true."

He then grabbed both of my shoulders and said, "I cannot let you three, especially you and Sasuke, do this. There will be a very high chance of death, and that is something that I cannot ignore. Please don't do this Sakura."

He was actually begging now, the raw emotion on his face was becoming too much for me to handle. If this worried him to such an extent then he was truly worried and scared; something Itachi Uchiha never was.

His hands gripped my shoulders tighter and he gave me a desperate look waiting for me to answer. I then put my hand on the side of his face and spoke in a slow voice, "Itachi…you have to except this. This is one of my feelings, these feelings that I never get wrong, and you know this is true. The three of us can do anything, and that includes killing Madara and putting an end to this war."

"I can see that you're resolved about this so let me come with you, to protect and watch over you. I can't let you leave, the last time I left you Orochimaru injured you and you were unconscious. I will not make the same mistake that I did last time," Itachi said his eyes intense with an emotion that I could not place.

"Itachi I can do this you know I can," I implored him, "me, Naruto, and Sasuke have already talked about what we are going to do and how we are going to fight him. I have been inside Madara's mind, a sick twisted place, but I learned about his abilities and his fighting style. All three of us can do this."

If even possible he gripped my shoulders tighter and with raw emotion whispered, "Sakura…ever since I met, even when you were a child, I cared for you. I will _always_ care for you. You except everything that I did to my clan, to Sasuke, and you have faith in me. I believe that you are to kind and excepting and I worry that it will become your downfall…if Sasuke or Uzamaki get hurt I know that you would willingly sacrifice yourself for them, and do not tell me I am wrong."

I sighed and then put my other hand on his face, so that both of my hands were now on his face. He looked so conflicted and hurt, and it hurt me as well. And the emotions from his mind were rolling off in waves, something that never happens because of the shield he puts around himself. He was hurting and it was my fault, but he just had to see things my way.

"I know that what we are going to do is dangerous. Naruto, Sasuke, and me are three of the four people Madara wants. Being this close to him might put us at a huge advantage or a huge disadvantage. But I just _know_ that we can pull through, Team 7 always has," I said with a sad smile on my face, "And I need you to lead in my stead. I trust that you will be able to lead my Division and become the second Head General, and if you can't my brother always can."

"Sakura…I can see that I have no chance in coming along with you. But I cannot lead in your stead, I do not know how to lead, but Leader-sama does. For once in my life…I am scared," Itachi said in a soft voice his face getting closer to mine.

Our faces were now only inches apart, close enough to kiss. My mind was taking me out of this conversation and to our position. Itachi had both hands on my shoulder, I had both hands on his face, and we were _very_ close. Before I could dwell on it more, Itachi pulled away seeing how close we were and said, "We should be going."

Still in a slightly dazed state from the fighting and being close we headed to our tent, only yard away, and headed in. We were met by the rest of the Akatsuki members, who were all still awake.

Kisame was sitting on his cot staring at the top of the tent, Sasori and Deidara were talking in a corner, and Konan sat by my brother rubbing his shoulder soothingly. When Itachi and I entered they looked our way and the Pein said, "I was wondering what took you so long Sakura, Itachi."

I rubbed the back of my head and said, "We just got caught up talking and healing…you know the usual."

"Hm," was his only reply.

I took one last look at Itachi before I headed to my cot next to Pein and Konan and went into a blissful and deep sleep, waiting for what would come next.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just the plot line**

**~Yeah another chapter! I wanted a good fighting scene in here so I thought why not Hanzo…and don't worry Pein will freak out in the next chapter :) And I think you can tell who the love interest is now (first love like scene so tell me how I did!)**

**Thank you to all who reviewed and once again Please Review Again!**


	29. The Nightmare

_**Madara's Base **_

Madara paced back and forth in his underground base. It was an eerie, dark, and cold place; just what Madara liked. To the reason he was pacing back and forth was because of the war, and how it now seemed to run out of his favor. His four targets had been causing his ranks to lower, especially Killer Bee.

_Those two jinchuuriki are a thorn in my side along with Sakura and those traitorous Uchihas_, Madara thought to himself.

Killer Bee had been able to pick out the disguised White Zetsus and had almost killed them all. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura seemed like an unstoppable team, just as they were when they were younger. And Itachi was always foiling with his plans, it seemed too ridiculous to count how many times he had.

Madara stopped pacing, still in deep thought, and thought about his own predicament. He needed the Rinnegan, that much was evident, so that he may achieve full power. If things had gone as planned Nagato would already be dead and Madara would have his eye. But Nagato just had to go looking for his sister.

Madara now thought of the last two Uchiha besides himself. Itachi was untamable no matter how you tried to break him, the only way Madara had been able to control Itachi for some time was because he held little Sasuke over his head. Now that Sasuke was older and stronger, meaning that he now was able to defend himself, and being an Uchiha he was naturally strong. But he did have common leverage over the Kyuubi, Sasuke, and Itachi…Sakura Kuroyoi.

Madara gave a small smile at this name. Sakura Kuroyoi, brother of Nagato Kuroyoi known as Pein, holder of the Rinnegan as well as a demon, and one of the most skilled kunochi of her generation, she even surpassed the Great Slug Queen. Then Madara chuckled to himself as he thought, _A mind reader too…not so bad huh?_

Madara knew that if he wanted to get four of the targets he would have to use their weakness. Itachi, Sasuke, and the Kyuubi had a common weakness; Sakura. Killer Bee had his brother, the Raikage, and Sakura had many people she cared too much about for Madara to use.

A plan started to formulate within his mind as he thought of his men he had left. Kabuto had the Jinchuuriki Summons left, Hidan and Kakuzu were still going strong, but Zetsu was running out of white copies. But then Madara thought of how Kabuto and he were masters at Demon Seals. They were not able to get within the jinchuuriki's seals because it was too tightly sealed and _very_ powerful. But Sakura's seal on the other hand was easy to get into, it was a possibility that they could use her seal to get within the Kyuubi's.

Madara laughed darkly to himself as he went up to the higher levels where he would have a chat with Kabuto.

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ**_

I got up from my deep sleep eight hours later to see that everyone else was still sleeping. Deidara was snoring (as usual), Sasori was breathing silently, Kisame was sleeping with one hand off the bed that contained a small sake bottle, my brother and Konan slept on close cots next to each other and they held each other's hand in the small gap, and Itachi…well he wasn't really moving.

I got up from my cot slowly and quietly to see a peaceful expression on the elder Uchiha's face. His face was soft, not the usual stoic look, his stress lines were not as apparent as normal, and he had the smallest and faintest of smiles on his face.

I was getting curious as to why he would have that smile on his face so I thought that it would be harmless to take a quick peak inside his mind. I focused on lightly brushing up against his mind and saw him and Sasuke when they were younger, with Sasuke on top of Itachi's shoulders laughing like the little child he used to be. Then the scene switched to where Itachi and Sasuke were in the woods, and Itachi was teaching Sasuke how to throw a kunai while poking his forehead every so often.

I smiled to myself as his happy memories surfaced. I was about to leave his mind, but a frown appeared on his serene face. So I went back into his mind to see that he was no longer thinking of his happiness with Sasuke, no he was having a nightmare. It was the night of the Uchiha Massacre, I had witnessed this when I first read his mind and then Madara's, but this was more intense, more emotional.

Itachi's frown got deeper as he was telling Sasuke to hate him and try to kill him, but before he could take his last look at Sasuke, Itachi's nightmare twisted and changed. It was now on the battlefield, everyone was lying dead around him and Itachi was clutching something close to his body. I concentrated more to see who or what was in his arms, to see that it…was me.

I was battered and bloody, my eyes were closed, and I had a small smile on my face. My lifeless body was held in Itachi's arms, and then a sudden drop of water fell atop my forehead. Itachi was crying silently over me, his tears falling down onto my pale, dead face. Then there was a dark laughter in front of Itachi; Madara. He was standing over Itachi and my body _laughing_. The bastard.

I myself was crying, and shaking slightly from anger, now as I pulled away from his mind, and seeing that he was still frowning I shook him awake. His eyes flashed open, at first red then back to ebony, and they were glassed over with moisture that threatened to fall. I just looked deep into his eyes, and then I had strong arms around my body, squeezing me very tight.

I was stunned by the sudden contact from Itachi, the guy who never has any physical interactions with others except to fight. He had become clingier nowadays, and him squeezing the life out of me now was something I still had yet to get used to.

He kept whispering over and over, like a mantra, "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive…"

Hearing this I wrapped my arms around him and whispered in his ear, "It was only a dream Itachi, only a dream."

At my words he hugged me harder, if it was even possible, as if he was molding me into his body so that I may never leave his side. We stayed like that for a couple minutes, with me saying comforting words and rubbing his back, until he finally let go of me.

His eyes still held moister that had yet to fall. There was a little tear rolling down his face, so upon instinct, I brushed his tear away with my small finger and gave him a small smile.

He gave me a _very_ small smile and sighed, looking around to see that everyone was still asleep, which meant that no one saw him break down for the first time ever.

While he sat down on his cot, his hand on his forehead and his face hanging down, I sat next to him and said slowly, "I sensed your distress and saw the dream and nightmare you had…are you alright?" I then put my hand lightly on his shoulder, which he tensed at slightly.

"Now you see my worries Sakura," he said and then got up from the cot and headed to the tent flap. He was about to leave but just as he reached for the flap he said, "I will be training."

And with that he left.

I sat there on the bed knowing that I couldn't stop him from going. I then started to think about Itachi and what just happened. _The_ Itachi Uchiha had put down his stoic mask and let his emotions out, something that he never does. For Itachi to do that, it must mean that he is worried beyond belief of me dying. And Madara being the murder didn't seem to help ease Itachi's pain at all.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, I was about to get up to go back to my cot, but a sudden weight dropping the cot next to me made me stop. I looked to my left to see that Kisame was now sitting next to me, staring ahead to where Itachi left.

"What are you doing up Kisame?" I asked him, trying to keep the mood light.

He said, still looking ahead, "When weasel boy was hugging you Kitten…it seems that he had that dream again."

This caught me off guard, _again_? Itachi had this dream before and Kisame knew about it? "Kisame, how do you know what Itachi was dreaming about?"

He then turned his head to me, his black eyes staring into my emerald ones, and said, "Because I had to force it out of the kid. I remember that when we were on missions and you were still at base, Itachi had these dreams. I confronted him about it. He said nothing at first, but I kept on asking him until he told me about his dreams and Madara. He really cares about you Sakura, you know that right?"

I turned my head to look down at the ground, my hair falling forward, and I thought about Itachi's feelings towards me. Sure I knew he cared about me, I just didn't know how much he cared. Lately he had been fighting alongside me, and spending all his free time with either me or Sasuke.

Still looking at the ground I said softly, "Kisame…I know he cares about me, but I'm not weak; I can take care of myself. He knows that too, and I _hate_ that the thought of me dying is eating him up this badly. Itachi has been through so much in his life, I can't have me being a burden on him like how I was with Team 7 all those years ago."

"I don't know much about your Team 7, but I do know something about my partner. I can tell how he is feeling no matter how damn hard he tries to cover it up, I know that he has feelings and isn't just a block of ice. He is human even if others can't see it…and I think that he cares about you more than a friend or sister Sakura. Me and all the other members see you as our little sister, but the Itachi sees more in you…he might even love you," Kisame said, his voice very thoughtful.

That startled me a bit enough to look up from the ground and at Kisame. Itachi love me? That didn't seem possible, Itachi couldn't love me. And this coming from Kisame of all people that was just an oddity in itself.

"Kisame, are you sure that you aren't saying this because of the sake you drank last night?" I asked him.

"No I'm pretty sure it's not the sake talking. I can be smart sometimes, especially when it comes to seeing things that others refuse to see or even realize," Kisame said putting his hands behind him on the bed.

I gave him a small smile and said, "Well the others should be waking up soon, and from what I can tell we are going to have at least three days to recuperate, so we should make the best of it."

Kisame ruffled my head at these words and said, "I always wondered how in such a depressing place, you can still be happy."

I smirked and said, "It's a gift naturally."

"Indeed," I heard a deep voice say behind us.

Kisame and I turned around to see my brother behind us, looking like he just got out of bed. "Where is Itachi," Pein asked noticing that Itachi was gone.

"Training," was all I said before I got up from the cot to go to my pack. With a genjutsu I set up (so that no one could see me), I got dressed putting on my long fishnet shirt, red tube top, ninja shorts, and some bandages around my right knee. Putting on me katana, medicine and weapons pouch, I reached into my bag to get my emerald necklace that Kakashi had given me. Placing it around my neck I took the genjutsu down to see that Deidara, Sasori, and Konan were now up and dressed.

Placing my hands on my hips I said, "Okay guys, I'm going to go train, anyone want to come and spar with me?"

Deidara looked like he was going to say something but Konan stopped him by saying, "I will come with you Sakura." I smiled at her and as she grabbed her things Pein spoke up and said, "I need some time away from those Kages so I will come along as well. Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame I suggest that you help around HQ or go and train."

They all nodded at him and with that Pein, Konan, and me left.

_**Training Grounds (really a giant hole in the ground created by Pein when he got angry)**_

I was now sparring with Konan, Pein watched, and it was peaceful compared to what has been going for the past week. Konan and I talked about how things were going with our ends of the war. I said that the battlefield was a horrifying sight, and to this she said, "I know…Nagato and I experienced it at its peak when we were younger."

I nodded and said, "Speaking of when you were younger, I know that this name might bring up some bad memories, but you remember fighting Hanzo right?"

At the mention of his name Konan stopped her paper and it fluttered to the ground, and Pein tensed up. "Yes, he was in your report yesterday. I have been meaning to ask you exactly what happened there Sakura," Pein said.

I sighed and walked up to him and Konan and said, "I killed him like you did, Naruto and Sasuke helped me along with that Multi-Headed Dog summon of yours Pein and my own summon, Ryuu. We took care of him; the asshole was very cowardly, hiding behind all those White Zetsus."

"Hanzo had always hidden behind bodyguards when he was alive," Konan explained, "I can't say I'm surprised to hear that."

"Yeah, and another thing was that he was completely terrified of my eyes. I get it that you killed him with these eyes Pein but what exactly did you do to make have such a raw fear of the Rinnegan?" I asked my brother.

At this Pein took his anger out on the trees by using his push technique and pushing 20 of them to the ground. Then he growled out, "That monster deserved everything I did to him. He is the reason our parents are gone Sakura, the reason why Konan and my best friend died, the reason that I am using his body."

I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down and said, "Well I killed him, so there is no need to still be angry kay?"

"Nagato, she is right," Konan said from besides him, "We both lost something from that man, but it is in the past. Yes he caused us pain, but we should not allow him to continue his pain upon us. He is dead and will never come back again, he can't hurt us anymore."

Pein turned to Konan, and just by seeing her face he calmed down a bit then he said, "I am sorry that I got upset Sakura, Konan. I have to keep a strong head anyways if we are to win this war."

Konan smiled at him and said, "It's a good thing that Sakura and her friends will be the ones to end this war then," and then she turned to me, "I know that you will be able to end this war, don't doubt yourself at all Sakura."

I smiled at her and said, "Haven't doubted myself yet, and thanks Konan."

She smiled back at me and said, "Well we have been sparing for 2 hours now, I think that it is time we get back to see what's going on back at HQ."

"Agreed," Pein said.

I put my hands behind my head and said, "Same here."

I then walked on Pein's right and Konan stayed on his left. I felt comfortable around these two, because I grew up with them, and Yahito. I had very faint memories of Yahito, but they were there still there. He reminded me a lot of Naruto now that I think about it. And I knew Konan always had a crush on him, and my brother had a crush on her. Though, now I believe that Konan might actually love my brother, and my brother loves her back.

Thinking of love, my thoughts went back to Itachi. He was tormented, and he hid his pain from everyone. The few moments when his guard was down, was when he was around me, and he was feeling very morose. Itachi had been through so much, I only wanted to help him. And then with what Kisame said about Itachi loving me more than just a sibling, was weird to me.

Itachi is the closet person I am with in the Akatsuki, he and I just clicked. We enjoyed each other's company, and did not mind not talking all the time. And, I feel as if I don't deserve his love, he deserves much better than me.

Kisame's words were now etched into my brain, and I keep on pondering them. I wonder…do I love Itachi?

'**Yes you do,' **a dark voice said from the back of my mind.

I widened my eyes slightly at the demon's voice, so I said to it, _How do you know what my feelings are?_

'**Remember, you are my vessel. I can feel what you feel, and you can feel what I feel. Deep down you know you love Itachi, you are just scared that you might hurt him.'**

I heard the truth in my demon's words, so I said, _Why are you even telling me this?_

'**Let's just say that…I don't want this messing with your fighting in the war. Remember if you die, I die.'**

Then my demon went silent.

I looked ahead of me now to see that we were entering then Kage building. Putting what my demon said to me aside, I walked into the building, standing tall next to my brother.

I saw that all the other Kages were there, Pein and I were the last to arrive. We took our seats and Konan stood behind us. I smiled at Tsunade and Gaara, who were in front of me, and then said, "So…what's this meeting about again?"

Pein sighed, Tsunade and Gaara smirked, and the rest of the Kages had looks of annoyance on their faces. Pein then gave me a look and said, "Sakura, I called this meeting, for we have already discussed battle plans and such."

I now remembered him saying something about him calling a meeting; he just didn't say why he did.

"Yes, why have you called this meeting…Pein?" the Raikage asked. Well that was strange; he called my brother by his first name.

"Raikage-san, I have called this meeting because of what my sister is planning to do to kill Madara, and you might not like it," Pein said. He was talking about Sasuke, Naruto, and me going off to kill Madara, which was supposed to be a _secret_.

"Pein, what are you doing?" I seethed from his right side.

"You know as well as I do Sakura, that they wouldn't trust me after you left," Pein said giving me an equally hard look that I was giving him.

"Sakura, Pein-san, what the hell are you two talking about?" Tsunade asked crossing her arms.

"My sister seems to know of a way to kill Madara, which she _refuses_ to tell me how, and I thought that it would be safe to tell you. So that when she and her team leave, you wouldn't become distrustful of my Akatsuki."

I sank lower into my chair; Pein was practically digging a hole for me now. Older brothers are not supposed to do that!

"What is it that you are planning Sakura-san?" the Mizukage inquired.

I sighed and put a hand to my forehead. Taking a deep breath I looked at all the Kages and said, "I cannot tell you how I am going to kill Madara. But I can tell you some things."

"Such as?" Tsunade asked, staring at me intently.

"Who is going to be coming with me; my old team, Team 7. And before you say anything I know that having Naruto and Sasuke coming with me is risky, but it will work, I know it will," I said with complete confidence.

"So you were just going to leave, and not tell anyone?" the Tsuchikage asked roughly.

"Yup, pretty much. I knew you would all react this way, but you can't stop us. And if you try you will only be delaying the end of this war," I said crossing my arms in front of me.

It was silent for a while before Gaara spoke and said, "I see no problem in you going. I trust you and Naruto to get the job done…and Uchiha will be useful as well."

"You trust her enough to let her go off?" the Raikage asked, apprehensive.

"Yes, I trust both Sakura and Naruto with my life," Gaara said back to him.

"Well who will lead her division then?"

"I will," Pein said.

"I have already tried to get Itachi to lead, but he wants to hand it off to my brother," I said crossing my arms, "We need at least two Kages out on the battlefield, and my brother knows how to lead. My division trusts me, which means in turn they will trust Pein, plus he is a better leader than me."

"I can lead Sakura's division, and Konan," Pein said gesturing to Konan, "Will be my representative in my stead here."

"Actually no, I will not," Konan said calmly from behind Pein and me.

"What do you mean Konan, we have discussed this," Pein said, his voice on edge.

"Yes we did, but you forget that we work better together than apart. We do not need a representative here," Konan said.

"Would that be the wisest decision?" the Mizukage asked, folding her hands in front of her.

I spoke up and said, "Believe me when I say that Konan and Pein have amazing teamwork. When they work together nothing can beat them. I have to admit…they can even be better than Naruto, Sasuke, and me."

"Thank you very much Sakura," Konan said, nodding my way.

I put my hand behind my neck and said, "No problem."

"Tsunade, I will go with them as well," Jiraiya piped up from behind Tsunade in a serious tone.

"That will not be necessary sensei," Pein said from beside me.

"Agreed," Tsunade said.

Jiraiya huffed and said, "Nagato, Konan I know that you two will be taking the brunt of Madara's attacks, I can help. Tsunade…you can't stop me from helping my students."

Tsunade sighed then boomed, "Fine, but you better not get yourself killed idiot."

He smiled at her warmly and said, "Thank you."

"So let me get this straight," the Tsuchikage said, "Amekage Sakura, you and your team, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, will be going after Madara. While your brother leads your Division 6 in your stead, along with his friend behind him…you two Amekages are crazy kids. I'm getting too old for this."

I smiled at the Tsuchikage and said, "Hey we are the next generation, the future of the ninja world is in our hands. For once you should let the kids go off with our crazy plans and watch us leave. My friends and I can take care of Madara, all I need you to do his take care of the last of Kabuto's Impure Summons and the rest of the White Zetsus left."

"You make everything seem to easy Sakura," Tsunade said shaking her head.

"Hey I was taught to be headstrong by you, so no complaining. And besides, it's nice to make things seem easier I think."

"Your right there," Jiraiya said laughing.

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: 2 hours later**_

"What the hell Naruto!" I yelled at my blond haired friend as I hit him in the head.

"S-sorry Sakura-chan! That came out wrong!" Naruto said waving his hands in front of his face.

"Just shut up you dobe," Sasuke said putting a hand on his katana.

"Shouldn't you be angry Sasuke? Naruto just said that he wanted to use Deidara's bombs to blow up Itachi!" I yelled.

"No it's just that Itachi freaked me out earlier today, and I was angry at him. I was just kidding about blowing him up Sakura-chan geez," Naruto shouted loudly in his defense.

"Dobe, Deidara's bombs would do nothing against my brother," Sasuke said.

"What, is your brother god or something?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Something like that," Sasuke said passively.

I sighed and grabbed both of their hands and said, "Well now that we are done eating how about we train?"

"Hn," Sasuke said, but he grasped my hander harder.

"Sure," Naruto said also gripping my hand harder.

Now they were pulling me along, Sasuke on the left, me in the middle, and Naruto on the right.

I laughed to myself as I looked at my boys, my friends, my best friends. Naruto might be an idiot, and Sasuke might be the person you would find in an emo corner, but they were my boys. Both strong and both caring, though a certain raven haired didn't like to show it.

Thinking of raven hair brought my thoughts back to Itachi, then I asked Naruto, "What exactly did Itachi do to make you want to blow him up?"

"Oh that," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, "well, I ran into Itachi training in the forest today. I was going to work on my sage mode, and I thought that it would be nice to train with him…but he just looked at me when I asked. Then he told me to go away."

"What did you do to provoke my brother you baka," Sasuke asked.

"Nothing! All I asked was if I could train with him, and after he was done looking at me he gave me a cold look and told me to leave. He seemed really torn up about something though," Naruto said dumbly.

When Naruto finished I started to feel guilty, Itachi was torn up because of me. Why did he have to worry about me so much?

'**Because he loves you, stupid vessel' **my demon said in a bored tone.

I decided not to answer it, thinking that it would bring more harm than good. I then started to think if I truly did love Itachi…I think I might. But Itachi deserved a better life than getting dragged down by me. Bad luck seemed to follow me wherever I go; he needs some good luck for a change.

I was brought out of my reverie when asked me, "Sakura, are you alright?"

I pulled my hands out of theirs and walked ahead of them, then stopped. I looked ahead, where the sun was now setting and said, "Yeah, no need to worry. Let's get training."

Unknown to me, Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a look of grave expressions. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned around to see that it was Naruto, and Sasuke was right behind him.

"Sakura-chan…let's skip the training for now. The sun's setting and we need some days to recover to be at our full strength when we fight Madara."

"The dobe's right Sakura, let's head back," Sasuke said. Then without even waiting for me to respond, Sasuke took my hand and started to drag me back to HQ.

I smiled a small smile and let them drag me back to HQ.

The entire walk back was of silence, but not awkward, no it was a comfortable silence. We did sometimes, when we were all quiet and just stared ahead. We have always clung to each other for support, though sometimes we didn't even notice it.

As we went through the main entrance, we saw Sasori and Deidara walking around. Deidara caught sight of my pink hair and yelled, "Sakura!"

I gave him a smile as the three of us walked over to where Sasori and Deidara were. "Hey, were have you been, un?"

"Training," Sasuke said.

I gave him a quick look and said, "Yeah…training. What about you two?"

"The dunce here decided to _enlighten_ me with his art, again," Sasori said, his voice bored.

"Just here me out Sasori," Deidara said, "I know how our art is the same, un!"

"And this is where I leave," Sasori said walking away. I then grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear, "Just humor him Sasori, kay?"

He gave me a look and then said, "Fine, Blossom."

Sasori then turned around back to face Deidara. He crossed his arms and said, "Well?"

"Okay, think about it. My art is bang! And then your art is eternal. What is we could combine the two…you know blow up your puppets with my clay, un."

"I know nothing about art," Naruto said, "but that sounds more like your art blowing up Sasori's art."

"I agree with him," Sasori said, arms still crossed.

"No but, then all the pieces that got blown up will fall to the ground and stay there forever! Right, un?"

I shook my head at Deidara and said, "Deidara…there are things such as wind or earthquakes that could move it. I think that you two should keep your art different, not combine them."

Deidara huffed and said, "Whatever, un."

"Have you seen my brother anywhere?" Sasuke asked suddenly to the two Akatsuki members.

"No," Sasori said, "He has been training all day; Kisame might know where he ran off to."

Sasuke nodded and then started to leave, but then Naruto asked, "Why do you need to know where your brother is Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at me for a moment then said, "None of your business."

"Naruto just-" I said but then was cut off by a pounding in my head. I clutched my head and my knees gave way below me. I then started to scream. Over my screaming I could hear Naruto come besides me and say, "Saku-" but then he was also stopped by something pounding on his head.

"Guys!" Sasuke shouted at us.

I then felt Naruto fall down beside me, also screaming now. I could faintly hear Sasori yell at Deidara to do something, and then Sasori picked me up. Sasuke then picked up Naruto too.

Naruto and I screamed one loud final scream before the world around us swirled and we were in another place, a place where water was beneath us and there were two separate cages, each with a sealing paper on them.

I got up from the water and looked to my right to see that Naruto was also struggling to get up. I ran over to him and helped him and said, "Naruto what's going on?"

"Good question," a dark voice said from behind me, "But I think that a better question is _where_ you are."

When Naruto finally stood up he looked around and said, "This is my seal, where nine-tails is."

I looked around to, to see the familiar seal paper on one of the cells, "And this is where my demon is sealed," I then turned around to where I heard the voice and yelled, "Who are you and what have you done?"

"Everything will be answered in time Sakura-chan," the figure said stepping out of the shadows, "But please, one question at a time."

When he came out of the shadows he pulled off his hood to reveal who he was; Kabuto Yakushi.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**And there you have it! Another cliffy with Kabuto, and SUSPENSE! I love messing with their lives, its just so much fun!**

**Thank you for all the reviews, and review once again:)**


	30. Merged Demon Seal

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: Sasuke POV**_

Seeing my friends fall to the ground screaming made me go into instant protective mode. I bent down to pick up Naruto while I heard Sasori shout to Deidara, "Go tell Leader-sama and the others now!"

Sasori then bent down to pick up Sakura. Both Naruto and Sakura's bodies were limp and unmoving; they could be even dead if it wasn't for their shallow breathing. Naruto was heavier than Sakura; of course he would be with all the damn ramen he ate. When Sasori had placed Sakura in his arms, he looked at me giving me a silent command to follow him. I did without protest.

As we ran around HQ, a blur of red and black with yellow and pink mixed in, we got stares and shouts, but we didn't care. My friends were hurt, and I would be damned if I couldn't protect them. Sasori then spoke up, "What do you think has happened Uchiha?"

I gave a grunt as I shifted Naruto in my arms and said, "I don't know. The dobe usually passed out when using the Kyuubi chakra excessively, but he never screamed. And I don't know what could have happened with Sakura."

"Neither do I," Sasori said, his voice laced with worry.

A couple seconds later a question came to mind and I said, "Sasori, could it be possible that her brother knows anything of this?"

Sasori put his head down and whispered, "I'm not quite sure."

With those words said, I sped up faster so that I was now beside the redhead, and followed him to the Kage building. We burst through the door and entered the Kages personal medical wing, and then I laid Naruto down on the bed next to the one Sasori was putting Sakura in.

Tsunade immediately burst into the room and said loudly, "What have those two gotten themselves into this time?"

She looked at me for answer, but I had none. So I just shook my head and said, "Sakura fell to the ground screaming, and Naruto followed."

"So I take it that we have absolutely no idea what has caused this?" Tsunade said whose voice became gruff. At our silence she had her answer, and then went to Sakura first with her healing chakra saying, "Since Sakura was the first to fall I will check her first."

I nodded and then looked back to my best friends, who lay next to each other while I stood on the side of Naruto's bed. I wasn't afraid to admit that those two, plus Kakashi, were now my family, the place that I could come back to. And I was afraid of losing them. I, Sasuke Uchiha, was scared of losing his bonds. Seems like Orochimaru couldn't beat even that out of me.

And now that Itachi was back in my life, I now had four important people. And I would do everything in my power to make sure that they stayed with me.

I was brought out of my brooding when Sakura's brother, Pein, walked in, or more like _glided_ in. With a look of absolute murder on his face.

"What happened?" he commanded looking at Sasori and me.

Sasori stood up from his chair and said, "I do not know Leader-sama. Sakura fell to the ground screaming and the boy followed suit. We are not sure what has caused this."

Pein then started to pace, as if he was scanning his memory for anything similar to this situation. I was about to speak up but I was cut off when Tsunade boomed, "I think I might know."

Pein snapped his head towards her, as did Sasori and me, and then she said, "Uchiha, show Naruto's seal, I will flip Sakura over to see her seal on the back."

I nodded at her, and then pulled up Naruto's shirt to reveal the Nine-Tails Seal on his stomach. Tsunade flipped Sakura, laid her head down gently to the side, and pushed up the back side of her netting to show her own Demon Seal.

"Just as I thought," Tsunade mused to herself.

"What do you mean Tsunade-san?" Pein asked his voice laced with irritation.

She huffed and said, "I mean that I have a theory about what is going on here. I'm going to need Jiraiya, before I do anything else. He knows more about these seal then I do."

"You have not answered my question," Pein said, now not even trying to mask his anger.

She gave him a look and said, "I know for a fact that Naruto's seal is written in black ink. But look," she said pointing to Naruto's stomach, "the writing is now in silver, like Sakura's is. This leads me to believe that somehow their seals have become one, and are at a merged stage right now. I may be wrong but this is what my gut is telling me, and I never ignore that feeling."

Pein crossed his arms as he went besides his sister's bedside, and looked down at her with worry. He then said, without looking away from Sakura, "Sasori, locate Konan and Itachi, and then bring them here. Go now."

Sasori nodded and was out of there in a flash. Tsunade then looked me in the eyes and said, "Uchiha, get me Kakashi and Jiraiya." I nodded but not without asking her, "Will they be okay Hokage-sama?"

She sighed and put her hand to her forehead and said, "I don't know Sasuke."

_**Inside Merged Seal **_

I looked at Kabuto with feelings of murder and hate rising up in me. I could tell Naruto was feeling the same considering that he was now growling at him.

"What have you done Kabuto?" I yelled at him, spitting out his name like venom.

"Your harsh words wound me dear Sakura-chan, but I guess for you to play my game you will have to know where you are," Kabuto said smirking.

"Stop dancing around the question Kabuto! Where the hell are we?" Naruto shouted at the sliver haired man.

Kabuto wagged a finger in front of him and said, "Tsk, tsk, young Kyuubi. If you would stop yelling I would tell you."

"Answer the damn question Kabuto," I seethed.

He smirked at me and said, "You both know that I am a master at seals correct? Well, I thought that I should try something that has never been done before, merge two seals together to bring the two containers on the same plane, the middle plane. So you are both within your seals right now, I just brought your two seals together."

Naruto and I soaked up the information, and then I asked slowly, "Why have you brought us here then?"

He then snickered, that weird pedophile snicker, and said, "To play a game of course. Orochimaru-sama always enjoyed games before you killed him."

I tightened my hands to form a fist and said, "We are at war, we don't play games."

"Sakura-chan's right! Let us go now you little snake," Naruto once again yelled at Kabuto.

Kabuto then brought his hands together and said, "Sorry, can't do that."

"Why the hell not?" Naruto yelled shaking his fist.

"Because you must play the game. Here are the rules; there are two choices. One, you two fight each other till one of you lies dead, and two, if you do not fight I will release _both_ of your demons seals. I know that both of your demons have a nasty history with humans, and letting them out in your HQ will satisfy their thirst to kill humans, as well as win this war for Madara and I."

I stood there, shell-shocked. He expected _Naruto_ to fight _me_. We could never do that to each other! Even less, kill each other! There has to be some way that we can both get out of our seals alive. I looked to at Naruto, to see that his face was frozen, and sheen of cold sweat was now on his face. Then I heard the soft laughter of my demon, and the loud laughter of Nine-Tails, who were both locked behind their respectful bars and seals.

I walked closer to him and said slowly, "Naruto…we have to fight or else everyone is going to die. You and I both know this."

He then picked up his head fast to look at me, "But I can't kill you Sakura-chan…I could never hurt you…"

I then had an idea, a crazy idea, but an idea. But it would only work if I could touch Naruto, so I took hold of his hand and said, "Naruto we have too, I will not let anyone die back in the real world." And with those words I let go of his hand, but not without sending some of my own chakra into his body through his hand. He felt my chakra enter his body, but he was smart enough not to show it.

Kabuto then snickered and said, "Now that you have made your decision, you both can start your fight now, I can't wait to see who wins."

I glared over at his direction, Rinnegan activated, and then turned towards Naruto in a battle stance. He pulled out a kunai shakily, and put it in front of him. But before we could move I put my idea into motion by sending a thought to his mind.

_Naruto can you hear me?_

He stiffened a bit, which told me that my attempt to establish a mind link with him had worked. I then ran at him, katana now in front of me and yelled at him, "I'm sorry Naruto!"

_Move, and block you idiot, _I then yelled at him through the link when he wasn't responding to my attack.

He got out of his stupor and put his kunai up against my katana; we were deadlocked.

_Sakura-chan, what's going on? Why can I hear you in my mind? _Naruto thought frantically to me.

I pressed harder against his kunai and thought; _I created a mind link when I put my chakra into your body. Now listen to me, we both know we can't kill each other, which means-_

_That we will have to trick Kabuto, and get out of here without him releasing the seals, _Naruto finished for me.

_Yup, _was all I thought as I jumped back from him and swung my katana behind me.

"Looks like you both are taking this seriously, makes the game interesting," Kabuto mused.

I looked his way and said, "Your monologue is not needed in this fight, or ever for that matter. Shut the hell up Kabuto."

All he did was laugh. I then thought to Naruto, _Naruto, you need to slice me, before he suspects something's up, get me while my guards down with him._

His body went ridged but he said, _O-okay Sakura-chan._

Naruto then charged at me, I was still glaring at Kabuto, so it looked like I didn't know that Naruto was coming at me. He then slashed me across my arm, cutting my netting. I winced and then looked at him and said, "Push."

Naruto was then thrown back against the Nine-Tails' bars. The demon gave a deep belly laugh as he watched his container get up and said, "**I thought you were stronger container, do need my power to get you out, you little weakling**."

_That hurt Sakura-chan, _Naruto whined at me.

_Sorry, _was my terse reply.

Then Naruto yelled at the Kyuubi, "I don't need your help!"

Naruto then jumped out of his small crater and yelled, "Kage Bushin!" creating thousands of clones.

_Perfect Naruto, now we have a better distraction so that we can talk more, _I thought happily.

He then thought, _Thanks Sakura-chan, I thought that it would work. Now what's the plan?_

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: Kage Personal Medical Wing: Sasuke POV**_

Kakashi and Jiraiya just entered, with Konan trailing behind. I looked at them with steely eyes, and made eye contact with Kakashi. He looked at me, then at Naruto and Sakura, and nodded his way towards me. He knew what was happening; there was no need to explain.

"Pein, what do you need me to do?" Konan asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He gave her a look of thanks and said, "Check Sakura with your healing chakra, Tsunade is checking Naruto right now. Make sure that she stays stable."

"Of course," she said as she hurried over to Sakura's side.

Jiraiya then went to Tsunade's side to see what was wrong with his student. I heard him say that this has never happened before, and things along those lines. I sat down in a chair and folded my hands together, wondering where my brother ran off to. It wasn't like Itachi to disappear when others needed him; even I remembered this from when I was a child.

Itachi had become less aggressive in our training exercises lately, and his habit of poking me in the forehead had also come back. He seemed…on edge to me. Something was off with my brother, and for Itachi that was _not_ normal.

Pein voiced my thoughts by saying, "Did Sasori have Itachi with him when he found you Konan?"

She shook her head, no.

_Where is he? _I thought angrily to myself. I was about to get up and look for him on my own when I heard Konan yell, "Sakura!"

I looked to my pink haired friend, to see that a line of blood was coming down her arm. She was hurt, but how was that possible?

"Naruto has it too!" Jiraiya yelled as Tsunade hovered over Naruto. I looked towards Naruto to see that his cheek was cut, and new bruises were forming on his hands.

I then said hurriedly, "Why isn't the Kyuubi healing Naruto? And can't Sakura heal herself unconsciously?"

Pein looked toward my direction and said, "Yes they can both do that."

I huffed out a bit and said, "Well why aren't they healing then?"

"Because Sasuke," Jiraiya said looking my way now, "If their seals are merged as we believe they are, whatever is happening within those demon seals will happen to their physical bodies."

"But didn't you help Naruto control his seal?" I said angrily, "Why can't you help them?"

Jiraiya then turned to face me, stone faced, and said gravely, "I would help if I could, but I know nothing of Sakura's seal. The seals have been merged through her own, not Naruto's. This means I can't help the kid like I have in the past Sasuke. Now if you brother would get his ass over here I think that we would be able to use the two of your Shaningans." He then crossed his arms in front of him.

"Damn it, where is he?" I growled, running a hand through my hair.

"I'm right here little brother, what is the situation?" a deep voice said from behind me.

I looked to see Itachi's looming form standing over me, whose eyes were fixed on Sakura's prone form. His eyes spun from ebony to red as he looked at her further. He looked troubled; hair was a little messed up, stress lines more evident, he looked horrible. What is wrong with my brother?

"Itachi, where were you?" Pein commanded.

His eyes didn't leave Sakura as he said, "Training, Sasori has gone to see if he can create some antidote for her, but it is highly unlikely that it will work. What has happened?"

Pein gave him a hard look and then told him what Sasori and I told him. Itachi took in all the information, no emotion went through his features, but his eyes were a different story. Being his little brother, I have always been able to read his eyes, no matter how much he wanted to cover it up. His eyes showed hurt, anger, confusion, and determination.

"What do you need me to do Leader-sama?" Itachi asked, voice determined as his eyes.

Pein regarded him for a second before saying, "I have done some research on the Demon Seal that was put on Sakura from Danzo. With her Rinnegan she constantly fights the influence of her demon. In the little amount of notes I found, there was a mention of Shaningan in there. It could be possible that you and your brother might be able to enter her seal and get _both_ of them out."

_**Inside Merged Seal**_

I flew backwards into the water, picked myself up, wiped the blood off the corner of my mouth, and took a fighting stance. Naruto and I had tried to come up with plans to get us both out, but none of them worked. We were fighting, but trying our best not to injure each other to much, so that we could have some chance of escape.

I let out a battle cry as I swiped my katana at Naruto, who dodged, and jumped a little ways back. I then felt something pounding at the edge of my mind, something familiar. My demon was trying to take control.

_Naruto, you feel that? _

_Yeah…it's Nine-Tails…he's trying to take over, _Naruto thought in broken words.

He then charged up a Rasengan, and charged. "Push!" I yelled raising my hand in front of me; flinging Naruto backwards in the process. We were both now fighting each other and our demon's influence.

I started to breathe a little harder, as I gripped my katana. We had to get out, there had to some loophole. Then I remembered an old training session I had with Itachi about a month ago.

_Flashback_

_I laid down on back, taking deep breaths. Itachi put me through another one of his intense genjutsu sessions…not my favorite._

_He walked over to me calmly and put a hand out for me. I took one last breath before I reached out to his hand and he pulled me up. He gave me a smirk and said, "Trainings over for today."_

_I gave him a look and said, "Even with my Rinnegan I can't counter you Shaningan. How do expect me to defeat it?"_

"_Just as I would counter one of your punches, or your wind jutsus," he said._

_I ran a hand through my hair and said, "And how would you do that oh wise weasel?"_

_He snickered a bit and said, "Find a weakness. Every technique has a weakness, jutsus are not perfect, which means they have faults you need to exploit."_

_End Flashback_

That had to be it. There had to be some weakness in the merging of our seals, not every jutsu is perfect. Maybe if I tried hard enough, I could find the weakness in Kabuto's jutsu.

_Naruto, try to find a weakness, a fault, in Kabuto's jutsu. Got it? _I thought.

_Got it Sakura-chan_, he replied.

We were going to keep fighting till we find that weakness. It just depends if we don't kill each other first, and even if we don't our demons might do the job for us.

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: Kage Personal Medical Wing: Sasuke POV**_

I tensed at Pein's words. How were Itachi and I supposed to save them? Our Shaningans only worked with genjutsu, not seals.

"And how do you suggest we do that," I inquired, my voice hard.

"Konan come, we can do nothing about her injuries right now," Pein said commanding Konan to come to him. "Do you have to scroll I asked you to do research on?" She nodded and handed it to him.

Pein took it gently out of her hands and gave it to my brother, and then he said, "Itachi, you and your little brother read this over and see if you recognize it. I believe that it can only be read by those who possess the Shaningan. Itachi took it, then I moved to his side. We both turned on our Shaningan's and looked over the old scroll.

My eyes widen as the words on the page started to blend together to make sentences, instead of gibberish. I narrowed my red eyes and looked. The scroll's contents were about how the Shaningan and Rinnegan were similar. It showed similar traits, and how to use those traits together. Itachi looked up at Pein, as did I. But before Itachi could say anything, I asked, "Where did you get this? This belongs in the Uchiha compound in Leaf."

"Madara had it, and I stole it," Pein said easily, as if it was no big deal that he stole from Madara.

"What exactly does it say Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked, coming up behind me. I stifled a bit before turning around to answer him by saying, "The relationship between the Shaningan and Rinnegan. There is technique that lets the Shaningan gain access to the mind of a Rinnegan user, but only if the Rinnegan user allows it."

"Correct Sasuke," Itachi said indifferently, "but the only problem with that technique is that it works with the mind, not the seal."

"So the scroll has nothing that can help them?" Jiraiya asked crossing his arms.

"I'm afraid not," Itachi said through slightly clenched teeth.

"I guess those two knuckle heads will just have to fight their way out," Jiraiya sighed, running a hand through his long white hair.

"Damn it, you better come out this alive you two, or I won't forgive you," Tsunade said under her breath.

Pein then walked over to stand by Sakura's side, I stood in between Naruto and Sakura, Itachi stayed by the wall near Sakura in deep thought, Jiraiya and Tsunade were standing in front of the two hospital beds, and Konan stood near Pein. We were quite the morose bunch at the moment, thought that was kind of normal for me.

Pein then spoke up and said, "If I know my sister at all, I know that she will get both herself and Uzumaki out alive."

Jiraiya then leaned on the wall facing the two beds and said, "I hope your right Nagato."

_**Inside Merged Seal**_

Naruto swiped his kunai at my cheek, making a thin line of blood run down the side of my face. I growled and jumped at him, raising my katana over my head. I let out a battle cry as it made contact with his shoulder, leaving a shallow cut. I then jumped back, as did Naruto, for both of us to catch our breaths; both of us were exhausted from fighting each other. Plus the constant badgering of our demons wasn't helping in the least.

My emerald eyes narrowed at the place where two sets of red eyes were staring at Naruto and me; beckoning us to use their power and let them take over. Like hell we'd do that.

"I hope on of you die soon," Kabuto said sitting down atop the water, "Your fight is getting…boring."

I could hear the slight edge in his voice, meaning he knew something was up. Plus, I had a feeling that the jutsu was becoming harder for him to keep up, considering how much jutsu its takes to be present in a merged demon seal. Kabuto was dealing with some dangerous things, and I bet that Madara knew this as well.

_Naruto, you alright?_

_Yeah…what about you Sakrua-chan, _Naruto thought worriedly.

_Fine…now if only I could find that weakness, _I thought huffing a little bit.

Naruto's face then took a grave expression as he summoned more Shadow Clones to run at me. I braced myself to cut down every last one of them, but I would do it nice and slowly, taking my time. As I cut down the fifteenth Naruto, an idea was blasted into my mind. It was crazy…but it was the only thing that I could think of that could get us out.

Kabuto said that _one_ of us would die, not both of us. And if he released the demons, then we would stay here, alive but not dead. Only one of us could die here, but what would happen if _both_ of us died. I smirked as I slashed through one of the last Naruto's, feeling anxious to get out of this merged seal already.

_Naruto, I have a plan…but it's very risky and I'm not sure if it will work, _I thought to Naruto.

_Tell me, _was all he thought.

I told him of my plan, his face, if even possible, had taken an even more ashen look. He knew that either we would come out of this both alive, or both dead. But this was the only weakness I could think of, which means we had to try it.

I gave him a slight nod, barely noticeable, and he nodded back. This was the signal to start.

I charged wind chakra into my katana, as Naruto made a simple Rasengan. We then charged at each other, I was a swirl of pink and black, him a swirl of orange and blue. The darkened environment gave this charge an even more eerie feeling, as we yelled out battle cries.

And then I felt his Rasengan plunge through my stomach, my sword went through is stomach as well; we were dying.

I smiled at Naruto and said in a raspy voice, "I…hope this works Naruto…but if it doesn't know..ug…that you will always be my best friend."

He gave me one of the largest smiles I have ever seen, with much effort, and said slowly, "Yeah, love you too…Sakura-chan."

I felt the water ripple beneath us, meaning that Kabuto was now up. I used what little energy I had left to take a look at Orochimaru's pupil. His glare was one that could burn you a thousand times over, he was beyond pissed.

"What have you done?" He yelled at the two of us.

The Nine-Tails laughed a hearty laugh and said, "They broke your jutsu you fool."

"Why is it that all you humans are so foolish?" my demon added.

I felt myself getting closer to the edge, Naruto was the same, but we kept our eyes locked on each other; knowing that either way we wouldn't be alone when we woke up wherever we did.

"NO," Kabuto yelled as the world around us swirled, and started to break.

There was a bright flash of light, two dark chuckles, and then there was nothing.

**~Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto**

**Did I mention that I love cliff hangers! I wonder what has happened to our poor cherry blossom and our knuckle head, I could care less what happened to the bastard snake (really I hate it when that man talks).**

**I hope you also enjoyed Sasuke's point of view, I thought he needed to have a little bit of this chapter to himself to show that he really has changed. Hope I got my point across!**

**Tell me; love it, hate it, or whatever questions you have I shall answer! **

**Thank you to those that reviewed (hope you review again) and please give me your feedback. I need to know if I'm doing good! :) **


	31. Pain and Peace

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: Kage Personal Medical Wing: Sasuke POV**_

I sat down in my chair, folded my hands together in front of me, and stared at my two unconscious friends. It had now been half an hour and still there were no signs that they were waking up. There was the occasional cut or bruise that would show up on either of them, but they were immediately healed by Tsunade.

I ran an agitated hand through my hair, thinking that if they didn't come out of this, then I would beat the hell out of them. I had acted to hate them for so long, only so I could clear the bonds that I had for them and protect them. But they were too precious to me, as my older brother now is.

Itachi hadn't moved a muscle from what I observed, he just stayed propped on the wall staring straight at Sakura with a pained look in his eyes. I knew he found out about what Naruto, Sakura, and I were going to do to Madara, and I knew that he didn't like it. This happening to her was just the icing on the cake for him I guess.

The room was silent as we all stared at Naruto and Sakura, waiting for something, anything.

And then there was something, but not something that made us believe they would be alright. Out of nowhere two identical patches of blood bloomed on Naruto and Sakura's stomachs, and the blood was spilling faster.

I stood to my feet when Tsunade started to shout at other medic nins around, to go get help. I got out of her way as she started to heal Naruto, and then I saw Konan doing the same thing to Sakura.

"What the hell is going on? Are they dying?" I asked in a strangled voice.

I looked over at Itachi and to see the look of confusion and anger on his face. One of the many things I have learned is that an angry Itachi equals chaos for everyone else.

"Pein what is happening to them?" Itachi asked, too angry to use the normal Leader-sama.

"Do you think I know Uchiha?" Pein shot back as he looked back at Konan and said, "Is there a cut in her stomach, what is it?"

"They both have puncture wounds, meant to kill," Tsunade answered for Konan. Pein looked at Konan for confirmation, in which she nodded.

"Well what can we-" I was cut off by Tsunade's loud gasp. I looked in her direction to see why she had interrupted me to see that the blossoming blood had stopped its flow on Naruto, the same with Sakura as well.

The holes in their stomachs started to become smaller as skin grew over it. No blood came up to the surface as the holes close up, leaving only smooth skin with old blood atop it.

_What the hell did those two do this time, _ thought to myself.

"Tsunade…what was that?" Jiraiya asked quietly.

Just then Naruto and Sakura's eyes started to flicker open. I got in between the two beds, Itachi went to Sakura's side, along with Pein and Konan, and Tsunade and Jiraiya stayed at Naruto's side.

Their eyes opened only half way and Naruto spoke in a ragged voice, "Hehe…looks like it worked….there's teme." He gave me a slight grin then I looked over at Sakura and she said, "Of course…it worked."

And then their eyes fell to a close as they both went to sleep.

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: Kage Personal Medical Wing: Sakura POV**_

I opened my eyes slowly; the smell of anesthetic filled my nose, leading me to believe that I was in hospital. My eyes opened a little wider to see that I was right. Yup, I was in the Medical Wing, though that should be no surprise since I am usually in the hospital a lot.

I pushed myself upright in my bed to see that Naruto was also next to me in another hospital bed, and his eyes were also fluttering open as well. And that's when it hit me; the merged seal, the demons, Kabuto's game, everything. A small smile came to my face seeing that my plan worked and that we were both alive.

"What are you smiling about Sakura-chan?"

I looked back to see Naruto, with his hair ruffled and that large grin on his face. I smiled him and said, "You baka, I'm smiling because we aren't dead."

He laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess that is something to be happy about."

Then our door opened and a nurse with mousy brown hair and lavender eyes walked in. She was looking at her clipboard and then raised her head to look at us. She was startled, whispered something under her breath and then left the room.

Naruto and I stood there dumbstruck. Weren't nurses supposed to check on the patients, not runaway.

Naruto looked at me, his face questioning, and I just shrugged. I then noticed that we were in hospital gowns, and fresh clothes were on a chair for us.

I gave him a look and said, "Well I guess that we should get our stuff on and get out of here."

He rubbed that back of his head and said, "Yeah, besides I hate hospitals."

We both then got up and got dressed quickly, me in a red sleeveless top and baggy black pants, and Naruto in his normal attire.

Naruto was about to put on his orange jacket when the door burst open and a flustered Tsunade came in , trailed by my brother.

I gave her a sheepish smile and said, "Umm hi."

She glared at me and said, "Both of you back in the beds now."

Getting the message that either we get back in bed or be punched through the wall; we took our places on the beds. Naruto had then asked in a nervous voice, "Granny Tsunade…why are you so angry?"

She then turned her sharp eyes towards him and said, "You two were on the verge of dying three days ago, you were just about to leave the Medical Wing without permission, we were down two fighters, and you wonder why I'm upset?"

"F-forget I asked," Naruto said hurriedly.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Pein asked coming up to my side. He gave me an intense stare, as if he were seeing if anything was off about me. When he was satisfied he stopped scanning me, and turned his gray ringed eyes to my own emerald ones.

I nodded, and then he said, "If you scare me that much again I will be forced to kick your sorry ass."

I laughed at his uncharacteristic words and then flung my arms around my older brother and said, "Yeah, yeah I'm sorry."

He put one arm around me and left his other hanging, and whispered, "Your apology is accepted Blossom."

He then let go of me and Tsunade came over to give me a checkup, since she had already finished with Naruto. She pushed Pein to the side, and of course he turned his glare to her, but my teacher didn't seem to notice or care. She then moved her healing chakra over me and said, "What the hell happened to you two in that seal?"

I looked at Naruto, who nodded my way, and said, "That's kind of a long story."

"Don't care, now spill," She answered back as she backed up and put her hands on her hips. Pein stood behind her and gave Naruto and I look that conveyed Tsunade's words.

I sighed before I told them of how Kabuto had indeed merged our seals together, told us to fight each other he would release our seals, then of how Naruto and I fought and established a mind link. I then went on to tell them about my plan about Naruto and me killing each other, which Tsunade looked horrified at and Pein just shook his head and put a hand to his head. I told them that we did end up stabbing each other, and then I said, "But while the seal broke I got a small peak into Kabuto's mind."

At this Naruto asked, "You did? How didn't I see into his head either?"

"Must be a mind reading thing," I said dismissively, "Anyways, I saw something in Kabuto's mind that might give us an edge in the war."

"And that would be…" Tsunade asked crossing her arms.

I smirked at her, "Well let's just say that I now know the location of Madara and Kabuto, plus I know that the jutsu Kabuto used on Naruto and I, has weakened him greatly. And he will still be weakened for a while, which means we need to attack soon while his Impure Summons are weaker."

"That seems about right. The three days you two have been out, none of Madara's forces have attacked us," Pein said.

"Which means Sakura-chan, Teme, and I will need to get going to Madara's location while you guys kick Kabuto's ass," Naruto said standing up from the bed.

"Right," I said firmly.

Tsunade looked at us and said, "I will call a Kage meeting and we will discuss this further."

"My sister and I will be there," Pein replied in a deep voice, he then looked at me and said, "I have a feeling that the others will want to know how you are, Sakura come."

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Of course I shall obey oh _dearest_ brother," I then looked at Naruto and said lightly, "See you later baka."

He waved at me and grinned that grin of his yelling, "See ya Sakura-chan!"

I shook my head and laughed at him as I followed my brother out of the Medical wing and out into base. As we walked towards our tent, I caught people giving us weird looks. Some, mostly Ame and Leaf ninja, seemed happy to see me while others gave me looks of uneasiness. Looks like some things never change.

"Sakura," Pein said as he walked beside me.

I looked up at him and said, "…So how much trouble am I in this time?"

Still looking ahead he said, "Plenty, but your time for punishment will be after this war, but…"

"But what," I inquired, pulling a long strand of pink hair behind my ear and peering up into my brother's face.

"Remember what I told you that day when Jiraiya left us and we started to gather people to end the war?"

I nodded and said, "I remember, you said "Everything comes with a price, for love breeds hate, hate breeds pain, and pain breeds peace", right?"

"Correct, do you know what I meant by that?"

I put a finger to my chin and said softly, "You meant that love, hate, pain, and peace are all one in the same…but they have different results with different combinations. Are you trying to say that all these things are necessary to stop the war?"

Pein was silent for a small moment before answering, "Yes, I believe that all those things are concepts of war, and they must be approached. There was a time when I believed that love was a waste of time, and that it could never help bring peace to the pain. But I now know this not to be true, for I love you and Konan very much. You will have to use these concepts to defeat Madara, I'm positive. But you can't always put one before the other."

I took in his words and then said, "You know, you're pretty damn cryptic sometimes Nagato."

He stiffed at the sound of his real name, but then relaxed and gave me one of his rare smiles. We walked in silence as we approached the tent.

I reached out to open the flap, but before I could I was thrown to the ground as large hands wrapped around me. Still shocked, I looked to see Deidara's face above me and he yelled, "You're such an idiot Sakura-chan."

I gave him the I-really-think-its-the-other-way-around look and then felt something wet on my back and said, "Deidara if you don't get off of me right now, I will make sure that the hands that are now _licking_ my back will be torn out and buried deep in the ground."

He quickly scrambled off of me and then stretched out a hand to help me and said, "Sorry about that."

I reached for his hand and said, "Whatever."

We then walked in to the tent, where Pein had already walked in (he was now standing next to Konan), and Kisame was on his bed, while Sasori was fixing his puppets. They all looked up at me when Deidara and I entered and Kisame said, "Looks like Squirt is in one piece."

"Indeed," Sasori smirked.

I looked at all of them and said, "Hey someone's missing…where's Itachi?"

Kisame's features then turned serious and he then said, "Training with his little brother."

I nodded at him and turned around to leave, but Deidara stopped me with a hand on my shoulder saying, "Hey, un, where are you going?"

I sighed and said, "I have a feeling that Itachi probably isn't one of the happiest people right now, so I think that I should go and fix it."

I then shrugged off his shoulders and walked out of the tent, my hair billowing in the breeze.

It was true that I knew Itachi was in a bad mood. As soon as I saw that he wasn't in the tent I did a quick sweep of the minds in the area and found his at the edge of the woods with Sasuke. Itachi's mind seemed a little darker than usual, with his emotions going all over the place. But he was probably hiding it with that damn Uchiha pride of his.

Walking a little quicker, I got to the edge of the forest in a matter of minutes to see Itachi and Sasuke going at it in a kunai and katana battle. The way those two fought was really a thing of beauty and grace, but ferocious at the same time. It makes me wonder who would've won if they were still trying to kill each other.

They stopped when they took notice of my presence and looked at me at the same time, but Sasuke was the first to react by walking up to me. He was now only a foot away when he said, "You and the dobe are going to be the end of me, you know that right?"

I smirked at him and lunged at him with a hug and said, "Sorry about that." He tightened a bit when I hugged him, but he warmed up to it by putting one hand on my back and the other on top of my head. We held each other for another short moment before we let go. I then turned my attention to Itachi, who still had a blank look on his face.

I walked away from Sasuke and approached Itachi while saying, "I know your angry bu-"

He cut me off saying, "Now you know why I have the dreams and fears I have."

I shook my head and said, "Look…were both ninjas, plus I'm a general and Kage. No matter what, we will always be in danger. Plus what Kabuto did has helped speed up the war process by tenfold."

"How so?" Sasuke inquired from behind me. I looked at him and said, "When Naruto and I broke the connection of Kabuto's jutsu I was able to see the location of Madara and Kabuto. Which means that this will make finding Madara easier for us Sasuke."

"Hn," was his answer.

"It still doesn't change what happened in that merged seal Sakura," Itachi said piercing me with a glare, "you have yet to explain how you and Uzumaki were able to break free of the jutsu."

"Simple, we killed each other," At the incredulous look on Sasuke's face and the hardened one on Itachi, I furthered explained, "Kabuto made us play a game; either we fight till one of us was killed or he would release our seals, letting our demons run wild. I thought that either one of us had to be dead or both alive. It made sense to see what would happen if we both died instead of just one of us."

"I wonder why I'm even friends with the two of you sometimes," Sasuke said shaking his head, "You two are absolutely crazy and brash in decision making."

I rubbed the back of my head and said, "Well we never give up either so that's a good reason why you still even bother with us."

"Did you consider the possibility that it would not work?" Itachi asked.

"Yes we did, but we decided that whatever the outcome was would be better than our demons running free in HQ. Plus if we both died we wouldn't be alone in the afterlife."

"That is twisted reasoning," Itachi said, his eyes looking at me blankly.

"And your reasoning is twice as twisted as mine you jerk," I huffed crossing my arms.

He then smirked at me and walked over to me, gathering me in his arms. At this very uncharacteristic move, I scanned a little bit of his mind to see that he had simmered down quite a bit. He was just happy that I was alive I guess. I smiled into his shirt and hugged him back tight before letting go of him. I felt his hot breath go down my neck before letting go of me, sending shivers down my back.

I gave him and awkward smile and said, "I think we should head back to base."

"Hn," both Itachi and Sasuke said at the same time. I started at the realization that I totally forgot about Sasuke's presence. I guess I was too caught up in thee hug with Itachi to notice that he was still there.

_Whoops, _I thought to myself.

'**Did I mention that you are quite an idiot my young vessel.'**

I sighed inwardly at the sound of me demon's voice and asked, _So were you secretly in league with Kabuto in the seal or something?_

The demon gave a dramatic sigh and said, **'What kind of fool do you take me for Saku? Even if that silver-haired bitch did release me and Kyuubi we would have been under his control. Which means I wanted out of that merged seal just as much as you did.'**

I then outright laughed out loud at my demon's statement, getting me strange looks from Itachi and Sasuke. To answer their question looks I said still laughing, "My demon just called Kabuto a bitch…though I guess he is a bitch since at first he was Orochimaru's now he's Madara's."

"I always thought Kabuto was Orochimaru's little bitch either way," Sasuke said shoving his hands in his pockets.

I laughed and put my arms around the two Uchiha, who both stiffened at the contact but then relaxed. Then I said, "Who's ready to put an end to this war?"

Sasuke shook his head at me and gave a small smile while Itachi smirked once again. We walked in silence, me with my arms around them and they with their composed stature. We were now entering the main part of HQ, so I took my arms off from them and said, "Let's go and-" I was cut off when an Ame ninja flickered in front of us.

He bowed his head and said, "Sakura-sama, the Kages require your presence as well as that of the two Uchiha."

I nodded at them getting serious and said, "Thank you Kago."

He smirked at me, happy that I even saw fit to remember his name, and then he flickered away. Then Sasuke said, "What do you think they want with us?"

"You, probably for our plans on how to kill Madara," I said pointing at Sasuke then turned my finger to Itachi saying, "And you because usually you or Sasori are the ones that always accompany Pein and I to the meetings. It is a requirement for each Kage to come with a trusted ninja."

They both nodded at me and we disappeared in an array of ravens. Itachi had decided that it would be better to get their sooner than later, I guess was his reasoning for transporting the three of us to the Kage building.

When the ravens fell away I looked to see that the other Kages were all there already, and were waiting for me to take a seat. I did so, and nodded their way, taking my seat next to my brother. I looked around to see Naruto standing behind Tsunade with that huge grin of his, and then Itachi stood behind my brother and me next to Konan. Sasuke just stood by my side, crossing his arms.

I whispered to my brother, "Why is it that I'm always the last one to come here at the meetings?"

Pein just shrugged and said, "You're slow naturally."

I gave him a playful glare and said nothing, turning my attention to the other Kages, who all sat proudly.

"Now with the arrival of Sakura Kuroyoi we can official start this meeting," the Mizukage said eyeing me softly.

"Yes," Gaara said crossing his hands in front of him, "We can now discus further action in the war effort."

"First things first, we need Sakura to reveal what she saw within Kabuto's jutsu," Tsunade said, then looking at me continued, "Your brother and I already told them what you told us about Kabuto's jutsu."

I nodded and said, "When Naruto and I…uh killed each other the bond in Kabuto's jutsu broke, and I got a small glimpse at where he and Madara are located," I ran a hand through my long hair and said, "They are not in the same place now I can assure you, Kabuto is in an old cave Orochimaru used to use as a base in Oto, and Madara knows that Naruto, Sasuke, and I are coming for him."

"Where is he right now?" the Raikage's voice boomed.

I gave him a look that said to lower-your-damn-voice and said, "Ironically enough his choosing of the battlefield for us is the Valley of the End. I saw him sitting on top of his statue there."

Naruto and Sasuke stiffened at this statement, both remembering all that had transpired five years ago. But instead of fighting each other, they were now fighting together, and I wasn't going to be left behind crying like the weak little girl I used to be.

"Why am I not surprised," Tsunade grumbled.

"Since we already know that you three," the Tsuchikage said pointing at Naruto, Sasuke, and me, "are going after Madara, who will go after Kabuto?"

"Sakura, you and I are the Head Generals in this war," Gaara said looking at me, "What do you think is the best course of action?"

I sat back in my chair and thought for a moment and then said, "Well, Kabuto is weak right now, so I believe that our men have rested well enough to the point that they can leave tomorrow. We will need to dispatch all the divisions because Kabuto will be keeping his Impure Summons close, and Hidan, Kakuzu, and what is left of the White Zetsus will also be close by. But instead of me leading Division 6, Pein will instead."

Pein nodded his head in affirmation, then said, "I think that the all the Kages should be deployed as well. This will hopefully be the last battle, so we need to end it as quickly as possible with as little bloodshed on our side."

"Agreed," Gaara said.

The rest of the Kages gave sounds of agreement or nodded their heads. They all seemed tired of just sitting around and giving orders; they were ready to fight for our freedom and peace.

"Eh, Pein," Naruto said from behind Tsunade, catching everyone's attention, "I have a question."

Pein looked at him with his ringed eyes and said, "What is it Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto gulped at Pein's stare and then said, "Well, Pervy Sage was telling me about you when you were younger, and how you always talked about pain and pace being the same…I was just wondering if you could explain it to me and the rest of these Kages. I'm just curious to see you answer I guess."

My eyes widened at Naruto's statement, it was weird for Naruto to want to know why Pein think's that way he does. But I guess that my brother might be able to give them a different view that could help the other Kages understand better why Pein and I are the way we are, and how we plan to win this war.

Pein stared at him for a small moment before saying, "There cannot be peace without pain. My original name is Nagato, but I changed it to Pein to symbolize everything that has happened in my life; pain. The day when Sakura and my parents were killed in front of our eyes, I thought that there was nothing in this world but pain. But I know now that there must be pain before there is peace. This war will bring pain, but in the end there will be peace. Jiraiya-sensei gave Konan and I knew hope that we never had before, and that's when I realized that there was not pain alone in this world."

He then looked at Konan and me, his eyes softened as he said, "I have heard from Sakura and Jiraiya-sensei that you protect those precious to you Uzumaki-san. Like you, I also found people I wanted to protect, and make the world a better place for them. To me they are my peace through the pain, and I thrive to end the reign of pain to bring about peace for them."

He finished his speech and I gave him a sad smile, still thinking about the day mom and dad died and everything he said. He had beaten this concept into me, and now I believed the same as him. Pain and peace are the same.

Naruto smiled in confirmation, showing that he got what my brother said while all the other Kages still took it in. Seeing that this meeting was over Pein and I got up and I said, "While you guys are still thinking over what my brother said, I will be preparing the troops for tomorrow, and tell them what they will be doing. Everything will finally end tomorrow."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any shape or form.**

**See I didn't kill them! I just played with ya. **

**Now I felt like I should have some Pein speeches in there. The one about Love, Hate, Pain, and Peace was my idea, but the last part was from the manga I believe. And you will see Itachi and Sakura's love finally blossom in the next chapter! Which means there should be a ton of reviews for this chapter if you want me to go and write up the next one quickly!**

**So please review! :D and Thank you to all that have reviewed and subscribed. **


	32. The Begining of the End

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ**_

Today was the day, the day that everything would end. Today people would become heroes and victors; others would die and be remembered. No matter what was going to happen today I was sure that we would come out on top no matter what.

I was now standing on a raised platform with all of the other Kages next to me, Naruto and Sasuke also stood beside me on my right and left, with Pein right behind me. The generals were there as well in front of their respective Divisions. We were going to give the final speech and then head off.

Gaara was the first to speak saying, "As you have all been debriefed by the Amekage Sakura, you know that all of you will be heading towards the enemy's base, where Impure Summons and Akatsuki members will be. We will lose many men, but it will not be in vain."

Feeling that as second head general I should say something, I spoke loudly, "And you now know as well that Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and myself will be going to take down the leader of our enemies…though that was supposed to stay secret," I added as an afterthought.

At that Pein nudged me in the back, in which I stepped on his feet.

"We will not lose!" Tsunade then yelled, "We Kages will be leading the attack, and today we will end everything, understood?"

Tsunade's question was met by a bunch of loud Hai's and yelling. I looked into the crowd to see Kisame smiling at me with his toothy grin, Sasori looking bored, yet he had that excited glint to his eyes, Deidara was circling in the air on his clay bird waving at me, and Itachi was…well staring ahead at nothing like usual.

So without further ado I shouted, "Move out all Divisions!"

At this the Kages leapt in front of the horde of ninja and led the way, but Pein stayed behind with me. I looked at him and said, "You should get going."

He nodded then he said, "One thing before I leave." He then reached down to the chakra earrings in my ear and pumped some of his own chakra into them. I asked him curiously, "Um…why did you just do that?"

He gave me grave look and said, "If anything happened to you I will be notified; it is a technique similar to my Six Paths."

I smiled and then jumped up to hug him and said, "Remember our promise to not die."

He wrapped one arm around my waist and the other he put on my head and said, "Always." He then let go, smirked at me, and jumped off the platform to catch up to the other Kages. I smiled and shook my head and then looked at my boys. Naruto with his goofy grin, and Sasuke with his _cool_ attitude that I once loved.

I put my hands on my hip as my hair swished in the air in its high ponytail. "You guys ready?"

Naruto gave me a thumbs up and said, "Believe it Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke smirked and said, "Hn."

I gave a small laughed as we headed to the forest edge and said, "I love you guys."

We were about to go out running, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I whirled around to see the last person I expected to see; Itachi Uchiha.

"Brother what are you doing here?" Sasuke inquired, "Shouldn't you be with the others heading towards Kabuto?"

Itachi ignored him, his hand still on my shoulder and said, "Sakura, I must speak with you."

"Now?" I asked baffled.

"Now."

I looked at Naruto and Sasuke, then back at Itachi and said, "Itachi we need to go _now_."

"She's right brother," Sasuke added.

Itachi once again ignored Sasuke, which I could see was starting to piss him off, and Itachi said, "Sakura, I know that I cannot persuade you to not go…but please consider me coming along with you three."

I flat out said, "No."

"But-"

"No is no Itachi."

"You can't leave."

I tried to struggle out of his grip and said, "And why not?"

His eyes then got darker and he looked straight into my own; it was as if it was only Itachi and I, and Naruto and Sasuke were never even there.

"Because I love you, and I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt for something I could have prevented."

I stood shell shocked. Itachi Uchiha, the _Itachi Freaking Weasel Uchiha_ just confessed his love to me of all people. I didn't know what to say, what to do, all I could do is stare at him with my stupid face in a daze. The only question now was…could I return his feelings for him? Or would I just be an idiot and hurt him because I'm scared about loving someone, when the last time I loved someone I was hurt so badly.

"Itachi," I heard a voice behind me say. Trying to shake myself out of my stupor, I looked back to see Sasuke glaring at his older brother, while Naruto had shocked face but kept a restraining hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

Finally I got out of my daze, and took a deep steadying breath. I turned my attention to Naruto and Sasuke and said slowly with authority, "You two go on ahead, I can catch up."

"Sakura you can't no-" Sasuke said, his voice edged in anger.

Naruto cut him off saying seriously, "Teme, Sakura-chan can catch up to us," He then turned his attention to me and smiled, "We won't fight without you so hurry up!"

He then dragged Sasuke into the forest leaving Itachi and me all alone. I looked at the ground, and then slowly I raised my head to him. I could see that he was hesitant about coming closer to me so I sighed and walked up to him. He was trying to hide is worry at my answer to what he said.

Itachi flat out told me he loved me, and I know what it feels like to not have those feelings returned; it eats you up from the inside out. The only reason I didn't sink into depression when Sasuke left was because of Naruto and Kakashi always being there for me. I knew that deep down I had love for Itachi; I guess I was just scared to ever realize it.

Taking a deep breath I raised my head to look into Itachi's ebony eyes, those beautiful eyes I have always admired, those eyes that tried to hide so much from others, those eyes that were open to only one person; me. I raised my hand to put it on Itachi's cheek, caressing it. My sudden touch made him stiffen; he was still waiting for my answer.

I looked deep into his eyes and said softly, "Itachi…inside I love you, I love so much that it feels as if it hurts sometimes. I just don't want to get hurt again when you find out that I'm not worth it."

At this I put my head down, and lowered my hand, but I was stopped. Itachi had lifted my hand back to his cheek and he used his other hand to lift up my chin gently so that I could look at him. His eyes were soft and open, something that is very rare, and he said almost lovingly, "Sakura, how could you not think you are worth it? You have and always will be worth my time and love."

I gave him a sad smile and said, "I don't think that someone as great and kind, even though you don't show it, should even think of the concept of loving me."

He shook his head at this and said, "Sometimes I wonder how you can be so very smart, yet amazing idiotic at times…Sakura I _love_ you. When I first met you I knew that I wanted to protect you, and when you left I always made time to check up on you and Sasuke in Leaf, even when Sasuke left I still checked on you. I have and always will care for you, you stupid girl, can't you see what is plainly in front of you?"

My eyes widened a bit at his words, and then I brushed against his mind and saw that his words were true.

He truly did love me, it just took us long to admit it or even see it.

We were only inches apart, I could feel his hot breath on my face, and smell his fresh rain scent; the scent that I have always loved, a scent that had always calmed me.

Itachi was the first to move his head closer to mine, seeing what he was doing I went with instinct and met him halfway, and our lips met in a soft embrace.

His touch was soft and gentle, with a slight edge. He put one hand around my waist, and the other tangled up in my ponytail. In response I deepened the kiss and put both of my hands around his neck, bringing us closer, as if we could mold our bodies into one. We stayed in this embrace for a while, before we both remembered that we had places to be, people to kill.

He was the first to pull back, and surprisingly enough I found myself making a small pout. I was actually pouting, and now I was blushing. He then raised a hand to caress my face, brought my head closer to him, and kissed me on my hairline. Into my hair he whispered softly, "I love you, be safe."

He strengthened his hold on my head slightly before he let go, and disappeared with a flicker. I touched my lips, still in a slight daze from my first kiss.

I shook my head and smiled, and then remembered that I still had to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke. So with a wide smile on my face, I dashed into the tree tops, and headed towards Naruto and Sasuke's chakra signatures. I got to them in a matter of minutes.

They were silent as I ran up beside them and jumped from tree to tree. Naruto was the first to bravely say something as he asked roughly, "Um…so, how were things with, um, Itachi?"

I looked at him, smiled, and said in a sing song voice, "Oh nothing."

Naruto took a good look at my face, scoffed and said, "My ass nothing Sakura-chan."

Then Sasuke spoke up saying, "If my brother ever does anything to hurt you, I might I have reason to kill him again."

I glared at him and said, "Your one to talk."

He gave me a knowing look, saying sorry with his eyes, and said, "Hn, let's just get to the Valley of the End so that we can kill Madara and be done with this war."

I smirked at him, and speed up in front of them, so now they were the ones taking a good look at _my_ back, well that was until they decided to catch up with me so that we were running side by side. Sasuke on my left, and Naruto on my right. I looked at them and said, "Well guys…let's come out of this as Team 7, and make our sensei and home village proud, eh?"

"Of course Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked.

I smiled and shook my head at my boys. Then we all took on a serious look and resolve knowing that it was a very real possibility that we may not come out of this alive.

_**Somewhere in Sound: Pein's POV**_

I ran fast ahead of all the Kages, except the Kazekage stuck close to me up front. We ran in silence, knowing that now wasn't the time to talk. The Kages behind us, especially the Raikage and Hokage, were loud and have small little fights.

I shook my head slightly at their antics, it's a wonder that they were even Kages with that temper of theirs; even Sakura could keep her temper under control better than those two. Thinking of Sakura made me go somber even more. She was out their fighting someone I wasn't sure even _I_ could kill. Not to think high of myself, but I believe that I am an exceptional ninja, and if I still went with the previous plans as before I know I would have been able to lower Kohona to dust.

But the matter of the fact was that Madara Uchiha was stronger than me.

Sakura and her friends had a chance at beating him, but it was very slim. I was worried that my sister would do something stupid to save them, so I implanted my chakra into her earrings, so that I would know if anything went wrong.

I knew that my sister was strong, hell she could lead and connect with the people of our village than I ever could. She had strong resolve and strength; she learned the Six Paths faster than I had, in her own right she was a prodigy. The Kyuubi and Uchiha were strong as well, they would protect her with their lives, that was something I could tell just by looking into their eyes.

I was taken out of my reverie when the Kazekage spoke up next to me and said solemnly, "Do you believe that Naruto, Sakura, and the Uchiha have any chance at defeating Madara Amekage-san?"

I didn't look his way when I answered, just straight ahead. "The chance is slim, but still there. Sakura improved much with her training with the Akatsuki and me. She is much stronger than you remember."

"Ah, I know that she has improved, as well as Naruto and the Uchiha. Naruto now has the enough power to be considered a Kage, considering that he is now the Toad Sage as his master is."

"They are a formidable team, Itachi has told me of Sasuke's improvement as well. They are indeed a force to be reckoned with," I said confidently.

"Indeed," was the Kazekage's answer.

We were now almost right in front of Kabuto's location. I felt Hidan and Kakuzu's chakra from within, they were trying to overbear us with the enormity of it. I guess they forgot who the _true_ leader was.

I could see the Kazekage noticed this as well, so we both stopped and waited for the rest to catch up, but before they did the Kazekage said, "Let's just hope those three come out alive."

"They will."

_**Approaching the Valley of the End**_

Naruto, Sasuke, and I ran fast through the treetops, as fast as I used to go when I was still in ANBU. We all had the same goal I mind, and we wanted it to end fast, though I think Sasuke wanted to savor Madara's dying face considering everything the man did to Sasuke and Itachi.

I'm glad that neither Naruto or Sasuke asked to much about what had transpired between Itachi and I, plus I bet that if we survived this they would try to beat the information out of me or Itachi.

We were now only a couple miles away from the Valley of the End, a couple miles from Madara who was patiently waiting for us.

Thinking of the last time Naruto and Sasuke were there I asked, "Hey guys…are you going to be alright fighting in the Valley?"

I looked ahead when I said this, now I was looking at Naruto and then Sasuke. Naruto's face got serious, and Sasuke's didn't change as they remembered what happened all those years ago when we were only 12.

Then Naruto smiled and said, "Sakura-chan, you shouldn't worry. Sasuke never actually meant to kill me in the first place, right teme?"

Sasuke only smirked and said, "Dobe."

Naruto grinned and said, "I'll take that as a yes!"

I laughed and shook my head at their antics, my worries about them now gone. If anyone could smile during a time like this, it was Team 7. I believe that no matter what happens that in the end we will always be a team; our bonds could never be broken.

I snapped my head forward as I hear the sound of a waterfall, meaning that we were now here.

Naruto now had no smile on his face with his Sage Mode activated, Sasuke activated his Shaningan, and I activated my Rinnegan. We stormed out of the trees and stood atop the water. Naruto's Sage Cloak billowed in the wind, Sasuke put his hand on his katana, and my own red and white sleeveless cloak blew with the wind. We looked like a force to be reckoned with, with the Rinnegan, Shaningan, and our battle-ready attire. We were ready as we looked at the top of Madara Uchiha's statue to see Madara sitting on it.

I heard him give a dark chuckle as he descended down onto the water. He landed in a crouched position, and stood up in a one fluid motion. He gave us a one eyed look and said, "Looks like everyone grows up, sadly not the way I wanted."

I took a step forward, my cloak flapping behind me, and said, "I have one question." When I stepped forward Naruto stayed behind me on my right, and Sasuke took a step in front of me on my left. We ready for his attack just in case he didn't answer.

"And what is that dear blossom?" Madara said.

I glared at him harder at the sound of my nickname and said, "Why did you lie to Nagato?"

Madara waved a hand in front of him and said, "Oh the one about how I also wanted peace? That was not a lie; I just have a different idea of peace with a different way to achieve it. Your brother is just too soft to accept my plan."

My eyes glowed a brighter red, overpowering the grayness of my eyes as I said, "No, he was smart. Putting everyone under a genjutsu and controlling them is not peace, killing an entire clan is not the way to peace either."

At my words Sasuke tensed, but didn't do anything except his eyes started to spin faster.

"Did you come here to talk, or to kill me?" Madara asked in his deep unsettling voice.

"What do you think?" Naruto asked sarcastically, as he yelled Kage Bunshin and about fifty other Naruto's poofed into the air.

"I was hoping that you finally came to your senses and decided to offer yourselves and abilities to me, guess I was wrong," Madara said as he pulled out a kunai.

All the Naruto's gave a battle cry as they rushed Madara, but then there was a sudden poof of smoke and all of the Naruto's were gone. At this I took my chance and ran in front of Madara punching the ground below him, shattering it in the process.

My Rinnegan eyes looked for Madara to sense that he was right behind me, and before I could do anything Sasuke slashed at him with his katana. The katana went straight through him. Sasuke and I then jumped to where Naruto was and watched as Madara just stood there and said, "I expected better of you."

He then blew a large fire ball into our direction, in which we separated and scattered. I yelled, "Hana Chirimai!" Then razor sharp flower petals circled around Madara, distracting him. "He's trying to separate us," I then said to Naruto and Sasuke who were each about a meter away from me.

"I saw that as well," Sasuke said.

Naruto was about to say something, but was stopped by the sudden explosion of flowers. I had to cover my eyes from the intense heat that Madara's explosion was giving off. Seeing that he was standing there unscathed I whispered, "Pull."

My hand was raised as Madara came flying my way. Sasuke got the message and stood in front of me with his katana in front of him; ready to stab Madara when he came in range.

But Madara just passed straight through Sasuke and was coming my way, his lone Shaningan spinning wildly. He was trying to capture me in a genjutsu. Now knowing this I kept my one hand raised, quickly reaching for my katana strapped to my back, and swung out at him. I knew that it would hit him since he needed to be completely whole for a genjutsu to work.

My katana made contact with his shoulder as blood spilled out of it. But instead of him coming fully into my katana he lifted his leg, kicked down my raised hand, and then used his other leg to kick me in the stomach, which sent me flying.

I was flying backwards at a fast pace, and I thought that I might have a rough landing but I could still heal myself. That was until a strong pair of arms wrapped around me, catching me. I looked up to see that it was Sasuke who caught me. I got out of his arms and said, "Thanks."

He gave me a nod and we turned back to Madara who was going into hand-to-hand combat with Naruto. Their movements were too fast paced to follow for a normal human eye, but Sasuke and I followed their movements perfectly. It looked like every once in a while Madara would phase, trying to make Naruto lose his balance, but the blond quickly regained his balance.

**You should try merging with me**, my demon said in a bored tone.

I ignored it as I thought of how we were going to come out of this on top. I gripped my katana as I went through everything I knew, which was a lot, and thought of ways to win. Naruto was providing a good distraction which would give me long enough to think. Then I heard my demon growling at me, and my seal slightly burned; that's when it hit me.

As if noticing my sudden change Sasuke asked, "You figured out something didn't you?"

"Yeah, Madara's phasing will make everything easier for him and in turn harder for us," I said hastily, "I went through all the things I know and I think that a certain seal might help us. I just need to get close to him."

Sasuke stayed silent and said, "Naruto and I will give you an opening, when you see it take it and do your seal."

I nodded as he then jumped into battle with his katana. Now Naruto and Sasuke were both fighting Madara, while I waited for an opening to place the seal on Madara. I'm glad that Konan insisted on teaching me seal techniques or I would have never gotten this idea.

Madara was raising his hand, for what I didn't know. Naruto and Sasuke were about to attack, but I saw the opening in Madara's defenses and went for it. I ran doing the hand signs needed, and raised my hand in front of me. Red chakra circled my fingers as I placed my hand on my Madara's back and concentrated.

"Fuuinjutsu: Power Seal," I said.

As the words left my mouth a blast of red chakra was sent out, causing a minor shockwave. The red chakra tendrils circled Madara and he struggled slightly. I jumped back and said, "Notice anything different?"

Madara laughed as the red chakra left him, unbinding him, and said, "You sealed away my phasing technique didn't you? Smart, always the smart one Blossom."

"Nice thinking Sakura-chan," Naruto said coming up beside me.

"Killing him will be easier now," Sasuke also said coming up behind Naruto.

"You have Konan to thank for that jutsu, and lucky for us that was my demons chakra, which means my own chakra is still pretty full," I said.

"And you also think that your demon's chakra will be poison to my body, hm?" Madara said putting a finger to his chin, "You are sorely mistaken if you think something Danzo and I put in you is going to affect me."

I started for a second and yelled, "Both you _and_ Danzo put this thing in me?"

All Madara did was give a grunt of affirmation.

I clutched my hands together, knowing that now was definitely not the time to go losing my cool. I had to stay calm if we were going to beat him. Then Sasuke yelled defiantly, "Gouryuuka no Jutsu!" and took a deep breath as he blew out a fire dragon. As he did this, I remembered that the last time I used that jutsu was when facing Orochimaru, it was a technique taught to me personally by Itachi.

I also yelled, "Gouryuuka no Jutsu!" and a fire dragon blew from my mouth. Sasuke's dragon and my own circled each other and went straight towards Madara. Madara jumped up, but his feet were caught in the fire, but he acted like nothing was wrong as his black cloak caught on fire.

"Rasengan!" was heard as Naruto charged forward at Madara. Madara then grabbed Naruto's wrist with the Rasengan, and then used his other hand to punch him in the face sending him flying. I raised my hand at Naruto and said, "Pull!" and Naruto was pulled to me. When he was a foot away I dispelled my jutsu and he landed on top of the water's surface.

Naruto looked my way and said, "Thanks Sakura-chan."

"Anytime you knuckle head."

"How adorable," I heard behind me.

I did some quick hand signs and said, "Gale Wind Palm," as I turned around. Madara side-stepped the wind palm and grabbed at my outstretched wrist. He pulled it up, and leaned down to my level as he said, "Do you truly believe that you can beat me?" I tried to pull away but his grip was too strong, even my chakra reinforced hand couldn't get out of his grasp so I said, "Yes you bastard."

If even possible, his grip on my wrist tightened and he said, "No you won't."

He then molded chakra around his hand and stabbed me through the arm. I couldn't help but scream out as his hand went through my left arm. The pain was searing, and I needed to heal it fast. Then I heard a familiar chirping as I saw Sasuke come at Madara's right with a Chidori and Naruto coming on his left with a Rasengan. Madara let go of me and raised his hands to grab both Naruto and Sasuke's wrist, flinging them into the rock side.

I gripped my arm and jumped in between Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was the first to get up as he came towards me. He knelt down next to me and said, "Are you okay?" I put a green chakra hand to my arm and gasped tightly. I then gave him a weak smile and said, "Yeah, just fine."

Then I noticed that even though Naruto was in Sage Mode his fingernails were pointed, as well as his teeth, and his facial whiskers were sharpened. "Naruto, you need to control yourself. Don't lose control," I said slowly to him.

He nodded and took a deep breath helping me up. I was almost done giving my arm a crude healing job. I knew that my demon's chakra would heal it up in the end, so there was no need to waste my own chakra.

Sasuke then ran up to us and huffed, "Are…you two alright?"

"Just peachy Sasuke," I said, with a slight hitch in my voice.

I had one of my arms around Naruto for some support and Sasuke stood protectively in front of us and said dangerously to Madara, "You killed my family, put Itachi through hell, and hurt my friends. Today you die you bastard."

At this Madara gave a loud belly laugh and said, "Oh no, young Sasuke, today is the day I get what I want."

**~Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just the plot**

**Okay my first battle scene with Madara and Team 7, tell me what you thought of that one! And also Itachi finally confessed:) I wanted the relationship to develop so I'm sorry for making you all wait for that moment.**

**Thank you for all the reviews and please review again.**

**P.S. if you guys give me a lot of reviews I will be able to get to my little surprise for Pein sooner:) **


	33. Golden Susanoo

_**Sound Base: Pein's POV**_

I was approaching the Kabuto's base with Gaara and Konan by my side, the other Kages were behind us, and the rest of our Divisions lined the back. I had now taken Sakura's place as co-head general to the army, and I wouldn't disappoint these people.

I knew that there was a way that would help win this battle on our side in Sound, I was just worried to how the other Kages would act. So I whispered in Konan's ear what I was going to do, and she nodded. Bringing out my Six Paths would either be effective for the fight, or make the Kages trust me even less.

I stopped, seeing with my Rinnegan that Kabuto and his men were preparing for battle on the other side of the trees. I turned to the Kages, who all looked at me with blank (Gaara) or confident faces. I said hastily, "I will now bring out my ultimate weapon, so when you see other bodies jump here do not attack."

As if on cue, my other Paths showed themselves by landing beside and behind me. The shocked faces of the ninja and Kages were priceless in my opinion. They all stared at me in awe, horror, or curiosity; curiosity being the larger emotion.

The first to speak up was Jiraiya, "So these are the other corpses you were talking about, eh Nagato? Well I have to admit while they are almost like Forbidden Jutsus, they are impressive," he finished coming up to Konan and me. He put a hand on my shoulder and said, "I hope one day you will be able to go back into your true body and bury Yahito's."

I gave my old sensei a rare half smile, and then turned to my Paths examining them. They were strong specimens, and with my Rinnegan we were almost unstoppable. _This will be a good battle_, I mused to myself.

The trees and bushes then ruffled, and out came the White Zetsu copies. There were about fifty of them and before I could say anything Gaara yelled, "Divisions 2 and 3, attack the White Copies!"

The Divisions listened to his orders and engaged in battle with the copies. Without saying anything Konan, my Paths, and I ran forward so that we could into the clearing where Kabuto was waiting for us.

We busted out of the trees and into the rocky clearing. Kabuto was sitting down with a scroll in front of him, probably his Impure Summoning Scroll, and he had a white snake sitting up behind him. Hidan and Kakuzu stood side by side at Kabuto's left; Kakuzu with his indifferent expression and Hidan with his sadistic one. And the Jinchuuriki bodies were on the right of Kabuto, each blank in terms of expression.

I analyzed the scene in front of me. Kabuto was in the most vulnerable position, considering that he was still weakened from his jutsu he did on Sakura and Naruto. The Jinchuuriki bodies were his weapons. Hidan and Kakuzu seemed to be at the same power they were after we left, they still adorned their Akatsuki cloaks; it made me sick.

"Hey," Hidan spoke up loudly putting his scythe on his shoulder, "Where's little Blossom Bitch? I was told that she was a head General Pein, not you."

I gave him a glare, which was intensified with the eerie Rinnegan, and said, "You do not have to concern yourself with that. Rather you should worry about my Akatsuki."

At this Hidan laughed, and said, "That fucking pathetic excuse of an organization?" he laughed again and said, "You forget that Kakuzu and I here are immortal. Your gang of bastards have nothing to use as leverage against us! Jashin will allow us to win this battle," he then stopped his laugh and said in a serious tone, "Once all of you are dead, your sister will be next."

That was my breaking point. No one and I mean _no one_, threatens my little sister's life and gets away with it.

I then shouted to my Division, "Itachi, Kisame, you get Hidan and Kakuzu."

In a flash they were by my side, Kisame put his sword on his shoulder and grinned that toothy grin; Itachi looked ahead at Hidan with a glint in his eye and said, "With pleasure Leader-sama."

They then jumped at Hidan and Kakuzu, and that's when the battle started. Generals were shouting orders at their men; the Kages were waiting for me and Gaara to give us orders as well. So I then said to Gaara, "Gaara, let Itachi and Kisame handle Hidan and Kakuzu; they are more than able. I believe that the best course of action is for our Divisions and Kakashi's Divisions to attack the Jinchuuriki Summons, while the other Divisions help where it is needed."

Gaara crossed his arms and nodded, he then relayed what I said as orders to all those behind us and we went into battle. Konan and my Paths stayed by my side as we fought against the Two-Tails container, while the Kages jumped behind me and engaged in battle with the rest of the Jinchuuriki Summons.

This will be a battle I believe that none of us will ever forget.

_**Valley of the End**_

"You will never get what you want!" Sasuke shouted in anger at Madara. Sasuke was fuming, that was easy enough to see. But I needed him calm and cool headed.

"Naruto," I said to my friend who was supporting me by holding me up, "I'm fine now; my body healed itself as best as it could. You can let me go now."

Naruto looked a little reluctant, but complied with my request either way. I pushed chakra to my feet so that I could stand above the water. I walked over to Sasuke who was only a foot in front of me, and put a hand on his shoulder saying, "Like I told Naruto earlier; stay in control of your anger. Anger will _not_ get us anywhere Sasuke."

I felt him tense under my hand, but at my words he regained his resolve and gave a simple 'hn'.

"You children and your pep talks," Madara said in a bored tone, "It makes me want to chop some body parts off, specifically yours."

I heard Naruto growl behind me, but I kept an indifferent face, remembering the training I did with Pein. In situations like this it was best to keep a cool head rather than an irrational one. That was something I learned very early on in my time with the Akatsuki.

So I flashed up behind Madara at amazing speeds, my katana already drawn and heading for Madara's head. But he raised a kunai just in time. Metal clashed against metal, Madara's silver and my own black. I spared him a small smirk as I spun around and twisted his kunai out of his hand. Then I flipped towards him, katana raised high.

But Madara was just as quick as me as he countered with a fire jutsu, a large fireball to be exact. I looked at it, the heat already reaching me. As I was about to counter it Sasuke spit out another fireball that hit Madara's in the side, canceling both fireballs out. I looked at Sasuke and gave him a look of thanks.

I landed gently on the surface of the water, and then did a test run of one of my new jutsus I created. I did the necessary hand signs, closed my eyes, and then opened them abruptly. I could feel my eyes pulsating as the jutsu took effect.

Then Madara stood still.

I kept my hands in formation as Naruto and Sasuke headed my way, both with questioning eyes. Before they could ask anything I said fast, "Itachi and I have been working on new genjutsus, this is a powerful one but it won't hold Madara for long. So while he is distracted I thought that we should come up with a plan quickly."

"Kay Sakura-chan, so what's the plan?" Naruto asked dumbly while rubbing the back of his head.

I rolled my eyes at him, as did Sasuke and said, "I know you two have been trying a new jutsu," at this Naruto looked startled, and even Sasuke looked ruffled a bit. I continued saying, "You guys can't hide anything from me. But anyways, it supposed to be a combination of the Rasengan and Chidori right?"

They both nodded in assent.

I gave a slight nod and said, "Well when the time comes to use it, use it. And anoth-"

I was cut off by the feeling of my jutsu breaking. I put my hands down and looked at the masked man to see that he was craning his neck, acting as if nothing had even happened. His tone was serious as he said, "Let's stop this child's play, shall we?"

At this, gold chakra started to emit from his body and his lone eye spun faster and faster. I watched as the gold chakra took shape; first with what looked like bones, muscle, armor, and then a face. It looked like something out of hell, with a fire like appearance, something I wasn't sure we could beat so easily.

"That's the Susanoo," Sasuke breathed out in disbelief.

My head snapped his way as I asked, "You know what that thing is?"

He nodded gravely saying, "Susanoo is one of the Uchiha clan's greatest eye techniques. It's like an impenetrable shield, nothing can get through it. From what I know it also can summon up a sword or shield if it needs too."

I nodded and looked at my two best friends saying, "Well like he said, time for child's play is over."

I bit my finger, making it bleed and slapped my hand down on the ground. Naruto and Sasuke got the same idea and did the same as me. When they slapped their hands down there was a giant, and I mean _giant_, poof of smoke. And when the smoke cleared I was floating in the air atop Ryuu, Naruto had his arms crossed on top of the chief toad (Sage Mode still activated), and Sasuke had his hands at his sides with a smirk on his face as he stood upon a Multi-Headed Snake.

Naruto's Sage cloak blew behind him from the wind, as did my own cloak. My hair was now out of its pony-tail, and was now down at its regular mid-back length, flowing in the wind. My red and white sleeveless cloak flowed slightly behind me, and my Rinnegan eyes pulsed, feeling the violence of the battle coming near.

I then heard Madara scoff and say, "I see that you agree with me."

Ryuu growled from beneath me and said, "You in another fix kid?"

I smirked and said, "We can handle it."

When those words were said, all hell broke loose.

_**Sound Base: Kakashi's POV**_

I blocked another attack from the Six-Tails as quickly as I could. His little bubble bombs sent-from-hell were giving me a run for my money. If he kept this up, I couldn't do anything but dodge. Another bubble was about to explode in my face, but I jumped back in time, analyzing the scene with my lone Shaningan eye. We were holding our own against the dead Jinchuuriki, but for how long I didn't know.

I turned my attention to my Division that was helping the Hokage, but my little lapse proved to be almost fatal. Before I could even turn around, the Six-Tails container was behind me in an instant. Before it could deliver its blow, a puppet came out of nowhere and pushed the Summon aside. I turned my head sharply to where the puppet came from and saw Sasori working with at least fifty puppets at the same time. We made eye contact, and I gave him a small nod, he then returned it with a smirk.

I once again engaged in battle with the Six-Tails corpse, but this time I wasn't alone; Sai was fighting right alongside me. He drew up an ink lion, did some hand seals, and the lion came to life jumping off the paper and aiming for the Jinchuuriki's head. I did my own hand signs and a Chidori chirped in my hands. I ran forward at the distracted corpse, and hit him straight through his gut.

I kept my hand there and shouted, "Sealing Team!"

They were there within an instant and circled around the Six-Tails and myself. I pulled my hand out of the Summons's body quickly, so that the Sealing Team may wrap its seal around it.

As soon as my hand was out, they rushed up and wrapped the large sealing paper around the Jinchuuriki; it didn't struggle against them. The Team now formed a circle around the Slug Container again, and slammed their hands on the ground, showing sealing ink. But before the technique was complete the Six-Tails looked at me with the eye that wasn't covered by hair and said lightly, "Thank you."

He was then sealed.

I stood there for a couple second dumbfounded that the Summon spoke to me, that it actually had some control. I was pulled out of my dazed state by Sai as he came up and said, "Kakashi, did you see that?"

I turned my head to the black haired boy and said solemnly, "Yeah looks like at the very end they are able to break through their control slightly."

Sai nodded his head, took one last look at the place where the Six-Tails body turned to dust, and then jumped to assist Gaara and Deidara who were fighting up against the Three-Tails. Deidara was doing his best to make and throw the bombs as fast as he could, and Gaara constantly used his ultimate defense to protect those that would be caught in the cross fire.

As I jumped next to Deidara he said, "Hey your Kakashi right, un?"

I gave him a look and said, "Yes, why?"

Deidara shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just that Sakura said that Kakashi was her surrogate father and that she felt bad for anyone that got on his bad side, I can see why considering how strong you are."

"Thanks…I guess," I said confused. What a strange thing to bring up in the middle of a great battle.

Deidara then laughed and threw a handful of bombs at the Three-Tails, raising his hands in the process to blow the bombs up.

I went into autopilot as I fought against the Summon with my comrades. My mind was not here; rather it was with my team who was going against Madara. I tried to stay as focused as I could, but I couldn't help to think of my students, people I considered like my own children. Especially Sakura since I raised her since she was seven.

Taking her in was to this very day, the most out of character decision I have ever made. Usually I would have been lazy and said give her to someone else. But when I got a look at her, the look of a lost little girl that I saved, something in me gave. I knew that I would never be able to have a little girl of my own, so Sakura was my best bet, plus she was just so adorable as a child I couldn't resist to take her in.

Now that she and my two other students were fighting for their lives and the peace of the ninja world, I couldn't help but worry about them. Sasuke and Naruto were in a way my sons. Naruto's father was my sensei, and Sasuke was a relative of Obito. Though Sasuke was no Obito, he was an Uchiha and I felt like I owed him something at first, but in the end I cared for him as my own; same with Naruto as well. I couldn't think of any of the other teams that were as close as our own. My team, Team 7, has been through too many hardships, things that I still believe that my students didn't deserve to learn at such young ages; but that was the way of a ninja. Either way, no one could blame me for worrying about my family while in the midst of the final battle.

_**Valley of the End**_

Naruto's Chief Toad was the first to attack with its large sword, and it was going to make contact from the looks of it. But sadly a sword materialized out of the beast's hand, and thus blocked the Toads attack. The toad was pushed back and Naruto stumbled slightly on top of the toad's head.

"Naruto-boy, what is that thing?" The toad shouted at Naruto.

"Sasuke said it was Susanoo," Naruto replied fast, regaining his balance.

"Ryuu," I said.

"Already on it Sakura," Ryuu growled out. Seems like after the few times I summoned him he already knew what I wanted and what I didn't want; good.

Ryuu let his chakra leak out in waves, causing the Chief Toad and Multi-Headed Snake to falter slightly. I then let my chakra leak out, so that Ryuu's and my own chakra connected. His blue chakra combined with my own red, creating a purplish type of chakra emitting around us. Ryuu then took in a deep breath and blew out one of his largest fireballs, that was now swirling with red and blue chakra.

The fire laced with chakra flew at inhuman speeds towards Madara and his gold monster, and made contact with it before the Susanoo could block it. After the fire had cleared it showed that there was a small crack in the monster's armor, but it was quickly fixed as if nothing had happened.

"That thing is pretty damn strong," Ryuu commented as he saw that his fire barely had any effect.

Then Madara laughed from inside the gold chakra and said, "You are going to have to better than that if you wish to beat me."

I glared in Madara's direction, wishing that I could make his heart stop with my mind, and turned to see Sasuke now took action, and at least a dozen snake heads went towards Madara and his Susanoo. The attack was futile though, for when the snakes tried to pull back, they couldn't. The Susanoo had taken hold of some of the heads with its hand, while the other hand with the sword aimed to chop off the heads. As it chopped off five snake heads it sent an electrical spark up the snake's body, which meant that it was also going to hit Sasuke.

"SASUKE!" I shouted at him.

The shock hit its mark, but it didn't have the effect I thought it would. Instead Sasuke was smirking.

"You know," Sasuke said arrogantly while making hand signs, "You really should do your research on the people you need. You seem to have not known that I can channel electricity though my body, one of the few good things Orochimaru taught me how to do."

Sasuke then shot the electricity he absorbed from Madara's attack and whipped it back at the gold monster. It was an amazing sight if I do say so myself; considering all I have ever saw was Sasuke holding the chirping electricity, not shooting it out as if it were a whip.

The lighting attack made contact, but as expected, it didn't even scratch the demon form hell as I dubbed it. It seemed that if we tried everything we could, it would still only make a small dent in the demon. That thing was the ultimate defense and offense, something I wished Sasuke had learned so that we could have one on our side as well.

But he didn't know it, so there was no point in dwelling on it. Our Summons were now in line formation again; Ryuu and I still floated in the air, Sasuke's snakes were hissing on my right, and Naruto's Chief Toad was grumbling on my left.

Thinking over everything I learned one thing came to mind; _Teamwork_. That was it!

"Naruto, Sasuke," I shouted getting them to both look at me, but they were still alert, "We need to work together if we have any chance at beating that thing, got it?"

"You bet Sakura-chan," Naruto yelled turning his determined face to the Susanoo.

"I was thinking the same thing," Sasuke said as his red eyes spun and he got a dark look as he too looked at the gold Susanoo.

I smiled a real smile and did another summoning jutsu on top of Ryuu's head. The slug Katsuyu in her small form appeared in a puff of smoke. "Sakura-sama," the slug addressed me. I nodded at her and said, "I would like you to spilt up two times and go on Naruto's and Sasuke's shoulders."

"Right away Sakura-sama," the slug replied as it appeared on my shoulder and split. Its other halves poofed away and then poofed onto Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders. Naruto look slightly startled at the slug's sudden appearance, but didn't say anything. Sasuke didn't even seem to notice, though I knew he did.

I then shouted at them, "Katsuyu will send Medical Chakra into your systems when needed, just so you know since you two don't seem to care." They didn't reply back with words, only a smile and smirk.

Naruto's Chief Toad then rushed the Susanoo in the front, and Sasuke's Multi-Headed Snake slithered its way around the gold demon and hit it from behind. My blue dragon then went upward, to suddenly dive downward, which had me sending chakra to my feet so that I wouldn't fall off. At the same time Naruto's toad hit Susanoo with its sword, over a dozen snakes' fangs sank into it from the behind, and a gold fire emitted out of Ryuu's mouth aiming at the top of the Susanoo.

Now you would think that with all of our combined attacks, and immense chakra, that we would have at least broken through the Susanoo's armor or muscle or bone. But no, seemed like luck wasn't in our favor today.

As soon as our attacks made contact, the gold demon let a large wave of chakra flow out from it, causing the gold emitting chakra to push us all violently off our summons. The wave of chakra also destroyed our summons, which disappeared in a large poof; all three of them, Katsuyu was the only summon of ours still intact. We were now flying through the air, hurling towards the ground, but since we are the skilled ninja we are, we twisted in the air and pushed chakra to our feet to make our landing a little bit softer.

We all landed in the same spot, me still in the middle and Naruto and Sasuke on either my left or right. We were all huffing and puffing, I thought for sure that the summons would help us. Seems I miscalculated.

'**You still have something you can try' **my demon yawned from inside my mind.

I huffed and said out loud, "And…that would be?"

'**The Deva Path you idiot' **my demon said bored.

I started at this information, which Sasuke took notice to as he said, "What did you just…figure out?"

My Rinnegan eyes flashed as I looked at him and said, "Probably one of our only chances."

I then stood up straight, put both hands in front of me, and called upon my Deva Path; the Path that I was most in tuned with compared to my other six. I then whispered loudly, "Shinra Tensei."

Since we were far enough away from Madara and his gold demon from hell, I was able to do the larger scale version of Devine Judgment. Problem was that if this didn't work I would be sacrificing a lot of chakra right now.

Naruto stumbled back a bit and looked at my eyes, slightly frightened at my show of power. Even Sasuke gaped at me and the raw power coming from my own ringed eyes. The power I felt was immense, it was like a high in a way. This was one of our last chances that we had, so hopefully it would work.

I put my hands down; jutsu completed and fell onto my knees. I put a lot of chakra into that attack, and it was draining. But I could feel that even now my demon was being helpful and raising my chakra levels once more to about half.

Since Sasuke was the closest to me, he rushed to my side and held me by my arms. My long pink locks now fanned all around now, so it felt funny when Sasuke held me because he was also tugging down on my hair that fell onto my arms. His grip on me tightened as he steadied me on my knees.

Sasuke looked at me warily and asked in a concerned tone, "Sakura, are you alright?"

I shook my head and looked up into his red eyes, seeing the worry hidden there. So I smiled and said, "Let's worry less about me, and more about the jutsu I used."

He seemed reluctant to turn his eyes away from my own, but in the end his Shaningan eyes looked towards where Madara's Susanoo _used_ to be. The dust now cleared to show that the gold monster was gone now, but Madara remained there untouched, unscathed. It made my blood boil.

Madara then clapped his hands and shouted our way, "What an impressive display of power. I must say that I was not expecting you to be able to take away my Susanoo like that Sakura, but leave it to that brother of yours to teach you the ultimate technique of the Deva Path and not tell me."

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto shouted as his yellow eyes raged, "You voice is so annoying, no one needs to hear you little commentaries."

"Whatever you like," Madara replied offhand. He then disappeared in a flicker, and now instead of being miles away he was now only meters away from the three of us.

I stood up, now out of Sasuke's arms and said to Sasuke in a whisper, "You both attack him from the front with your combined Rasengan and Chidori."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked quietly.

I smirked and said, "I'll stay out of your way for this one."

Sasuke gave his own smirk at me and then looked at Naruto, who was looking from Madara to the two of us. Sasuke made eye contact with Naruto, red eyes to yellow ones, and conveyed what they needed to do with his eyes. Naruto nodded, seemingly understanding as he ran towards us and started to create his own Rasengan. Sasuke created his Chidori as well, and when Naruto was next to Sasuke, both of them used one hand to put their attacks spinning and chirping balls of lighting and chakra next to each other, and used the other hand to create the same symbol.

As they made the symbol the two jutsus combined and created what looked like a Rasengan with chirping electricity sparking out of the blue ball. I could feel the large chakra in that attack, and all I could say was, "Well, you don't see that every day."

"Got that right Sakura-chan," Naruto replied with a determined look on his face.

Then the both lunged at Madara across the raging waterfall, but before they could hit Madara the masked man said one word, "Interesting."

**~Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape our form, just the plot.**

**Another epic action packed chapter if I do say so myself!**

**Now I have some questions:**

**Do you like that I'm using different POV's for the battle in Sound?**

**How were my fight scenes?**

**Thank you to all my reviewers that keep me going, and please review (cuz if I get a lot I might update before Christmas:)**

**Happy Holidays!**


	34. Sacrifice

_**Sound Base: Itachi POV**_

I once again side stepped another slice from Hidan's scythe, throwing my own round of kunai at him, which he blocked. My attention turned to Kisame who was fighting Kakuzu, trying to drain his chakra using Samehada, but Kakuzu's tendrils kept getting in the way constantly. My red eyes then turned back to Hidan who was smirking like the mad man he was.

"What? You're not going to come at me Uchiha? Too fucking good to even try?" Hidan said taunting me.

I replied with silence as I gave him one of my infamous death glares; as Sakura like to dub my glares.

"God dammit why do you think so fucking high of yourself? It makes me sick!" Hidan shouted once again swinging around his scythe trying to get a drop of my blood, which he would most certainly not get.

I made some inhumanly fast hand signs as I jumped in the air to avoid his weapon. I then took in a deep breath and blew out one of my largest fireballs. Half of it burned Hidan while the immortal's other half stayed unscathed. He cried out in anger at me not pain, which I kept my impassive face on.

"Damn you fucking Uchiha," Hidan cursed under his breath.

I then engaged him in a taijutsu battle, where he would sometimes use his scythe, still trying to get my blood. This lasted for about ten minutes. As we were about to pull away I saw the opportune moment to get Hidan stuck in a genjutsu with my Shaningan. As Hidan raised his head up to glare at me I activated my Mangekyou Shaningan and looked straight into Hidan's eyes, transporting us to the black and white land of Tsukuyomi; where the only color was the blood red of the skies.

I opened my closed eyes slowly to see that Hidan's body was tied to a wood post, much like when I put Kakashi in the jutsu, and he started to laugh manically at me.

I didn't let my annoyance with him show through physically as I picked up a spike and started to stab Hidan with it; Hidan laughed once more.

I really couldn't take it much longer so I asked in a monotone, "You find this world of mine amusing?"

Hidan turned his crazed face to look at my own and said, "You know that I constantly kill myself every week right? This is nothing you bastard."

My eyes narrowed at him. I then multiplied myself into thousands that all had spikes in their hands. I then closed my eyes as all the copies of myself attacked Hidan at the same time; stabbing Hidan everywhere. At this Hidan actually screamed instead of laughing.

I opened my eyes once more and asked coolly, "Still amusing?"

Hidan spat out some blood and said, "Does it look like I fucking care? That little Blossom Bitch was worse than you, and I will enjoy killing her much more than killing you."

At the mention of Sakura I commanded my other selves to once again stab Hidan, except with twice as much power.

Hidan then laughed and said, "Oh, looks like little weasel bitch doesn't like it when I say I'm going to kill his play thing. She is your play thing."

At this I made all of my copies disappear, so that it was only Hidan on the stake and me. I pulled out a kunai and started to cut his chest open slowly. As I did this I said, "You will _never_ touch her."

Hidan's face contorted in pain as I cut him; he knew that I was adding chakra to the kunai to make it more painful than a cut normally would. So Hidan then looked towards the red sky and said, "That little bitch can't kill me, and neither can you."

"We'll see about that."

I then pulled out another kunai laced with black chakra and stuck it slowly in between Hidan's eyes. Hidan screamed at the slow impact, feeling the raw pain he would never feel in the real world. But he was in my illusion, my world, and he could not control a thing; that was my job.

I then remembered the times when Sakura was a child oddly enough. Hidan had been kind, well his twisted way kindness, to her. What had changed for him to hate Sakura so much?

I voiced my question to him and he scoffed and said, "She is the only one that is a threat to me; at least that's what boss man Madara said."

My eyes slightly widened at his answer, but they went back to their narrowed state quickly. I then asked, "How so? You are immortal are you not?"

At this he said in a strained voice, "Che, Blossom Bitch possesses the Rinnegan but not the same exact one as her brother's. She has a much more dangerous one in fact. That fucking thing could destroy the entire world if she wanted it to, and she doesn't even fucking know it. That's probably why Madara wants her eyes so much, some crazy shit about him becoming _whole_ or something like that."

I mentally shook my head at first; did Hidan even know that he was giving out valuable information to the enemy or did he just not care? But hearing the true full power of Sakura's Rinnegan was a shock, but at the same time it wasn't. I knew that her Rinnegan was different from Pein's considering the reddish tint Sakura had to her Rinnegan. But I had no idea the power that she alone possessed.

"He wants her eye," I said, making a statement instead of a question.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Hidan said. So I causally drove a kunai into his ear.

"Fuck!" Hidan yelled at the top of his lungs, "And people think I'm the sadistic one."

"You are," I formally replied, stabbing him with my other kunai in his gut.

Hidan then turned an icy glare to me and said madly, "We are going to die either way, even me. Madara doesn't give a flying fuck about any human. He told me that he was going after the blond idiot, that bastard brother of yours, and little Sakura. If I were them I would actually be begging on my knees so that I could be spared," he then smirked and said, "You know how powerful he is Itachi, that oh so great Team 7 just sent themselves to their own death."

I uncharacteristically growled and let the kunai disappear, instead putting my hand to his neck crushing it. I gave him a narrowed eyed look and said dangerously low, "They will not die. If Sakura is as powerful as you say she is, she will have the ability to kill Madara. Naruto and my brother are very powerful as well; your words do not make me doubt them."

Hidan just smirked and said, "We'll see whose right in the end."

_**Valley of the End**_

Sasuke and Naruto were only inches away from Madara with their combined Rasengan and Chidori. Madara tried to move, but before he could the attack made contact with his left shoulder.

The impact was amazing; when the combined attack hit the masked man's shoulder a bright light emitted from it. The chirping was louder than ever before, with Naruto and Sasuke's face were dead set on success. Then there was a sudden burst of wind, wind speeds that were that of a hurricane, sending not only me but Naruto and Sasuke as well flinging back into the rock side.

I felt the sharp rock go against my back and create a small crater. I slowly pulled myself out of the crater and started to feel the healing chakra that was sent to my back by Katsuyu. I held my right arm, the one that got stabbed through by Madara's hand, and looked at Naruto and Sasuke. They created bigger craters in the rock than I did, and weren't standing up as fast as I did, but I could see the Medical Chakra Katsuyu was sending into their bodies.

My eyes then turned to Madara to see that he was clutching his left shoulder, or what was left of it; his entire left arm was gone, the actual arm was probably sinking to the bottom of the water by now.

I could see his lone Shaningan eye narrow and glare at my friends. Madara was pissed, and from what I could tell he wasn't exactly the best person to be around when he was this angry.

I brushed up against his chakra to see that he still had plenty left to finish the three of us off, and his anger was just rolling out in waves now; looks like he didn't take to kindly to losing an arm.

I limped my way over to where Naruto and Sasuke still laid, struggling to get up. I went as fast as I could towards them and as I got closer I could hear Naruto say in a horsed voice, "That was awesome teme."

I could already feel Sasuke's smirk as he also said in a horsed tone, "Of course it was dobe."

Despite myself and our current situation, I couldn't help to smile and shake my head at them as I still limped in their direction. Only those two could still tease each other after what they just accomplished.

I was about to comment but I was cut off when Madara said in a dark voice, "You will pay for this."

My head snapped to his direction seeing that he was running down the water, right towards Naruto and Sasuke's weak forms.

Forgetting my limp, I pushed my chakra to my legs to run in front of them, protecting them from the small black chakra ball that was being formed in Madara's hands. It was something that looked like Naruto's Biju Ball that he used during the battle with Orochimaru; my scar from Naruto in that state pulsed from the memory. I knew that if that jutsu of Madara's made contact with me I would for sure be done for, but it didn't matter; my best friends were in danger and that's all that mattered.

I ran as fast I could at speeds that the human eyes could never hope to follow. I was two yards away from Naruto and Sasuke now on top of the water, and Madara was only feet away from me, charging right at me.

Before I knew it I felt the impact of his black chakra ball go dig into my gut. I stood there in shock for a second, registering what had just happened to my already beat up body. I grunted as I grabbed onto the hand that was lodged into my stomach and spit out the large amount of blood that was falling out of my mouth.

My grip tightened on his wrist as he said, "Either way, dead or alive, I will get your eyes and your friends _will_ die."

I ignored him as I racked my brain for all the sealing techniques I knew. I had just enough chakra to preform one more before I…died. I then remembered a simple yet complex one that Itachi and Konan had taught me, knowing that it was my last hope to save Naruto and Sasuke.

I heard rocks moving from behind me as Naruto and Sasuke finally got up halfway. Then they looked at me with Madara's black chakra ball in my stomach and I heard Naruto scream my name, but I didn't pay attention. No, I had to build up all the chakra I had into this last attempt to save everyone.

My hand now formed a steel grip on the masked man's hand as I said in a whisper, "Fuuinjutsu: Divine Extraction."

I felt the power leave Madara's body as the black sealing ink writing covered his body almost like a curse mark. I still held onto his wrist tight, keeping his attack lodged in me so that he couldn't escape. I knew Madara could feel that is body was draining of chakra as he said, "So you finally decided to bring up the darker parts of your Rinnegan."

He was right, for I felt my Rinnegan eyes pulse harshly as my jutsu took hold of Madara. This technique would seal up or take away at least two-thirds of his power. Naruto and Sasuke would only be fighting a Madara with only a third of his chakra left; I knew that they could kill him in that stage.

As the ink receded away from his body and back to my hand I said in a labored breath, "You…will die today, and you…know it too."

His eyes narrowed as my hand's grip on his wrist weaken. He pulled his hand out of my gut, the black chakra ball gone and said, "Your sacrifice is pointless, and even if I do die there shall be another with my same ideals." He then backed up from me.

I lost all control of sending chakra to my feet as I fell to the water's surface. My long pink haired flowed upward as I fell backwards. But not into the water as I thought; no it was into the strong arms of my best friend.

_**Valley of the End: Naruto POV**_

I watched as Sakura was stabbed with Madara's chakra ball. I felt so useless that I couldn't command my body to do anything. _Move! Move! Get UP Dammit! _ I shouted at it, but it did nothing.

As I saw Sakura, my best friend, fall to the water's edge, my body finally decided to respond by pushing chakra into my legs and surging towards where my friend was falling. I caught her and held her tight in my arms, seeing that her eyes were slightly opened; _there was still hope_, was my only thought.

I jumped off the water as fast as I could and went back to where Sasuke was staring wide-eyed, actual tears falling from his eyes.

I clutched onto Sakura as I landed and told her in a worried and fast voice, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, everything will be alright, just hang on please, please don't leave me."

I was about to try and attempt to heal her as she raised a shaky hand to my face and touched my cheek. While blood dripped from her mouth she said, "Naruto…I'm dying there is nothing you can do. I weakened Madara as much as I could for you guys…everything will be alright now."

I saw that her eyes were flickering and I panicked. "No, no, no, no Sakura-chan s-stay with me please, nothing will be right if you don't live. You can't do this to us."

Her thumb went up to wipe the tears falling steadily from my face as she said weakly with a small smile on her face, "Hey…it's alright. You can cry at my grave and tell me I'm an idiot okay?"

Sasuke then spoke up, sorrow lacing his voice as he said, "No, you will not die, there will be no grave. I refuse to let another family member of mine die…what about Itachi? What do you think this will do to him?"

I spared a glance at Sasuke to see that the tears had increased.

I looked back at Sakura as she said, "Tell him I love him Sasuke-kun," I felt Sasuke's head go up at the kun, "And you two…tell everyone that I'm sorry and that this was the only way."

She then smiled a little wider as she looked towards the bright blue sky above us and said, "Remember…I will _always_ love and protect you, you are my best friends after all…I'm sorry."

Her eyes then closed, but the smile stayed.

My tears fell onto her face, her beautiful face, as I clutched her tighter than ever before. She was laying in my arms cold; she died in my own arms.

I could feel the rage building up inside of me. Sakura was dead because of this monster. This man who hid his face from everyone, this man who wanted to enslave the world, this man who killed my best friend.

I hugged Sakura to my chest as I wrenched my eyes away from her and looked towards Sasuke, to see that his anger was as large as my own, if not even more. Purple chakra started to spin around him in a frenzy as he stood up, with tears still streaming down his face, except there was now a red tint to them. His left eye had started to bleed.

As he stood up to his full height the purple chakra started to form into what we had just fought earlier; the Susanoo. The great beast looked menacing as its body started to create bones, muscle, and armor. Sasuke then pulled his head up and yelled at Madara, who was still standing on the water, "YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

His Susanoo then went to attack Madara.

As it did this, and Madara tried to dodge it, I picked up Sakura's lifeless body and set it gently down a couple yards away from Sasuke and myself. But before I let go of her small frame completely I gave her a small kiss on her forehead, the thing she had hated since a child, and said, "You will come back to us Sakura-chan."

I then stood, my shoulders hunched, as my yellow eyes got a red tint to them. Orange chakra circled me as I created thousands of clones, all of whom were creating Rasengans. I then gave a battle cry, as did my clones, as we jumped at Madara hitting him with everything we had. At the same time we attacked, Sasuke's Susanoo struck Madara.

My clones and I hit him with all of our Rasengans, and he was hopeless to do anything as we attacked.

Madara's body was flung into the rock on the other side of the waterfall. I saw him trying to stand up, but in the end he failed.

Sasuke's Susanoo then disappeared and he was there in a flash next to Madara's prone body, eye still bleeding. I was there a couple seconds next to my raven haired friend. His chakra still an evil purple, and my own a demonic orange as we stood in front of Madara's crouched body.

His mask was now cracked in half, showing the Shaningan part of his face. He looked up at us with distain as he said, "Like I told Sakura, killing me will do nothing. There are others out there like me that will take up my legacy."

Sasuke's hand went forward and he pinned Madara to the rock side by the neck. He then said slowly, "Then we will kill him, and the next ones."

Madara then smirked at us and said, "I had a good run. Too bad…that the ones to end me are just a couple of eighteen year olds…just my luck."

Sasuke's hand tightened around his neck as I growled, "I hope you burn in hell."

Madara gave us one final smirk before the light left his eyes and he fell limp. He was finally dead.

Seeing that he was dead, my orange chakra receded and my Sage Mode left, my eyes turned back to their normal blue. Sasuke still hadn't let go of Madara's cold neck yet so I said while putting a hand on his shoulder, "Sasuke…you need to let go. We have to bring Sakura to her brother as soon as possible."

He tensed for a moment, then realized that he was wasting precious time, he let go of Madara's corpse and said, "Let's get moving then."

Sasuke then walked across the water to where I had laid Sakura down. He picked her up gently and clutched to her very being. I walked up beside him and said, "Let's go before we waste any more time."

Sasuke said nothing to me as he dashed forward into the trees, and I followed.

_**Sound Base: Itachi POV**_

We were finally ending the battle. The Kages had sealed all of the Impure Summons, and were now taking care of Kabuto. Deidara was finishing the last of the White Zetsus with his bombs…still laughing while doing so. Kisame had effectively killed off Kakuzu, and the Divisions were now all healing or resting, letting the Akatsuki and the Kages take care of the rest.

And me, well I was chopping up Hidan into pieces. His detached arms, legs, feet, torso, and hands all lay in a pile of limbs in front of me. Now Hidan's head was being held in my hands by his white hair, his head white and black since he tried to perform his ritual on me, and clearly he failed.

Hidan yelled as I pulled at his hair, raising his head to my eye level. The white haired man then said, "Jashin will make sure I live and that little pink bitch of yours is probably already dead!"

If possible, I glared at him harder than ever, and said in a deep voice, "You need to make constant sacrifices to still be immortal. I believe that is quiet impossible to do so from a hole." My eyes then glanced over to where Kisame had created a large hole in the ground for me to put Hidan's remains in.

Kisame gave a toothy grin and said, "Plus our little Sakura isn't easy to kill. I bet that even Itachi here couldn't beat her at her full power."

Hidan smirked and said, "You forget that it isn't oh so great fucking Uchiha she is fighting. No, she is fighting a man who can kick Itachi's ass. And will die sooner or later, that I can guarantee you."

I was about to toss his vastly annoying head into the pit but Kisame just had to speak up and say, "But doesn't Madara need her alive?"

As I walked over to the pit Hidan's head started to laugh as he said, "You kidding me? The only way he will ever be able to get the little bitch's eyes are if she is cold and dead."

Having enough of him talking about Sakura dying, I kicked his remains into the hole and then threw his head in there. Then I pulled out kunais laced with paper bombs and threw them into the dirt, activating them to explode. The explosion was a large one as all of the dirt filled up the hole, successfully keeping Hidan there.

I then sighed and clutched my eye. Sakura was going to have a fit once she found out that I excessively used my Mangekyou too much. But it was Hidan's fault that he tried to provoke me by always saying that she was going to get hurt or die.

_**Sound Base: Jiraiya POV**_

Tsunade and I were now fighting with Gaara, trying to kill off Kabuto. The Raikage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, Konan and Nagato were also fighting with us. We underestimated Kabuto, thinking that after the jutsu he used on Tsunade and my students that he would be weak. Well he was doing pretty good for a guy who wasn't supposed to be all that mighty and powerful right now.

Tsunade once again punched the ground shattering it, while the Raikage took advantage of Kabuto jumping in the air. The Raikage aimed a powerful punch at Kabuto which made contact. Kabuto yelled as he was shot to the ground, right in front of Nagato. Kabuto now had too many open and bleeding wounds to even try to move.

I saw Nagato's eyes narrow slightly, no emotion in them, as he raised a metal staff to stab Kabuto and finish him off. But as he was about to bring it down he stopped.

Nagato started to scream out in pain as he fell to the ground. Konan was beside him within seconds, and I was there right after her. But before I could look fully at my fallen student, my eyes went to look Kabuto's way to see that he had vanished. He got away with our small lapse in attention.

I disregarded it for now, hearing that the Raikage, Tsuchikage and the Mizukage were going after the little snake. My attention was now fully on Nagato as he cringed in pain. I looked to my blue haired student and asked, "Do you know what's wrong with him Konan?"

Konan thought for a moment, and then her eyes widened in fear. She started to send her chakra into Nagato's, or Yahito' s body I guess, and she said, "Only one thing could make this happen to him."

"And that would be?" Tsunade demanded as she crouched down to Nagato's form and started to look for any major injuries.

Nagato, painfully, opened his eyes and looked at Konan. He said in a hastily tone, "Konan, I need you to get my real body. I think you figured out what has just happened…damn her."

"Who?" I questioned as Konan flittered off in a flurry of paper.

Nagato then pushed himself up and said, "Sakura, my idiot sister."

At this Tsunade and Gaara, who was standing above us arms crossed, perked up. Gaara then asked, "What happened to her?"

Nagato started to talk to himself saying, "How could I have overestimated the distance between us. Now I will never be able to make it to her within the time limit…idiot, idiot."

"Nagato," I said firmly, "calm down…now tell us what happened to Sakura."

His eyes looked defeated as he looked at his hands. "I embedded some of my chakra into her chakra piercings, so that I would know if she was in any trouble. For me to collapse like this means that my chakra is no longer in her body…which means she died."

At this new revelation everyone gasped, even Gaara.

"What do you mean she _died_?" I new and dark voice spoke up.

I looked up to see that Itachi Uchiha was now standing next to Gaara, looking like he was about to lose it. I have never seen him loose his cool, for Kami's sake, he was known to always keep a straight face. This information seemed like it could be the ending of him if I guessed right.

"Pinky can't be dead," the blue Akatsuki member, Kisame, said coming up from Itachi's right, "She's too strong and stubborn to die…right Leader-sama?"

Nagato shook his head and said, "Once Konan gets back with my body I will be doing a jutsu that will put all my Six Paths into my real body. It's the only way I can save my sister since we can't get to her within the time limit. It will put great strain on my body; it has been quiet frail for a while. But it could be the only way to save her; it _might_ work."

Then, as if on cue, a large flurry of papers appeared and made an outline of what looked like two people. The papers left the bodies to reveal Konan and Nagato's real body. Nagato's body was in real bad shape, very boney and frail as he said. Putting all those Paths back into him would surely bring him back to his former glory, but it would also put his body in shock from being so weak to so powerful.

I looked down at Nagato worriedly and said slowly, "What happened to your body?"

"That is not of importance right now," Nagato said quickly from his own body that was now being supported by Konan. His ringed eyes darted to his Akatsuki members, and he held Itachi's eyes for a moment longer than the others saying, "We will get her back."

He then sharply turned to look at his men and commanded, "Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, get all my bodies over here, I don't want to waste chakra in controlling them."

They all nodded and jumped to bring the Six Paths to Nagato, expect for the Deva Path that laid on the floor at my feet. I got up quickly, pushing my white hair out of the way to see that the members had brought over all of the bodies, and they were now lined up in front of Nagato.

Nagato nodded his thanks at them, and still with one arm around Konan said, "Konan you have to let me go…I can handle this from here on out."

She looked reluctant to let go so I walked over to her and said, "Konan he will be fine. If you kids are still as I remember you, nothing will put you down."

I then smiled at her as she let go and said to Nagato, "Don't lose her kay?"

Nagato gave a real smile and nodded at her. He then righted himself, and before he did anything he said, "Itachi, Sasori you two are coming with me." His words were answered by silent complies.

He then formed a hand sign and said in a low voice, "Kai."

_Release _

A strange white chakra started to emit from the Six Paths, only the Deva Path's white chakra came from the ground while the others came from them standing up. The white chakra was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, as it flowed over to Nagato's body. As it entered his body his body started to fill, his skin became a smooth pale instead of an ill one, and his red hair became more vibrant.

He looked as he did as a child to me, except older. He now looked healthy, as if he had been reborn; and in a way he was. Konan came up to stand beside him, looked over him and then hugged him. One lone tear fell from her eye and said, "I'm glad to see that you are finally you once again."

Nagato slowly put his arms around her as well and said, "Yes, me too."

At this Sasori coughed a bit and Itachi said fast, "We need to go now."

Nagato let go of Konan and said, "Konan and I will lead and you two," pointing at Sasori and Itachi, "will flank either of us."

They turned to go and were about to jump to the trees, but before they could I called out, "Hey Nagato! Good luck."

Nagato didn't turn my way, instead he jumped to the trees; Konan, Itachi, and Sasori following.

Gaara and Tsunade then came to stand by me and Gaara said, "She will come out alive right?"

I was about to answer but Kisame spoke up instead and said, "Pinky may be…dead. But I bet that even in the afterlife she is still fighting."

Then the blond bomb terrorist came up and said, "Saku-chan will come back, Leader-sama and the Uchiha will never allow her to die anyway."

I looked to where they went into the trees and said, "I hope you are right."

**~Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way just the plot.**

**Okay…I know I'm so evil. Remember that Pein said he **_**might**_** be able to save her. So you are just going to have to keep reading if you want to see if she lives or not! ^.^**

**This was also a somewhat graphic chapter considering Hidan and Itachi's fight, and Sakura dying and all…but either it will all work out in the end (I think:) **

**And I bet your all so glad that I updated so soon right!**

**Anyways thank you for the reviews and please once again review my little readers!**


	35. The Short Life of a Cherry Blossom

_**Somewhere in the forests at the edge of the Valley of the End: Naruto POV**_

I looked to where Sasuke was jumping beside me, still holding Sakura to his chest protectively. Her long pink hair fell and whipped around her as we flew through the treetops, her stomach had finally stopped bleeding, but the hole was still there. She looked awful, but she still had that small barely noticeable smile on her face; it made her look at peace.

But I just had to believe that we could bring her back. I remember that before we left, Sakura talked to her brother about their promise not to die. That memory brought back another that from when I eavesdropped on her and Pein, something about being able to revive each other. This was mine and Sasuke's hope, our only hope that could bring her back to us.

We ran as fast as we could, and didn't say a word. Sasuke looked straight ahead, completely focused on going faster and faster. I could only hope that we didn't run out of chakra before we could get her to Pein, and we would then die of chakra exhaustion.

As we ran I spared one last look at Sakura. As I looked at her hair, which was caked in blood, I was reminded of something she told me years ago.

_Flashback_

_Sakura and I walked away from the training grounds…that we just destroyed. Tsunade was going to kick both of our asses later, probably mine more than Sakura's. _

_As we walked it was a comfortable silence, we just enjoyed being in each other's presence. It had been three years since Sasuke left, and we clung onto each other and were distant from others. Sure we still talked to them, but I could only ever show my true feelings around Sakura._

_We were now nearing the cherry blossom tree, a tree that had become a normal meeting spot for Sakura and I. We headed over and sat down on the ground at the tree's base. I laid down, putting my hands behind my head and looked up. Sakura then sauntered down and laid against the tree, hugging her knees to her chest._

_We watched the cherry blossoms fall from the tree. We were both thinking our own thoughts. I was thinking about our latest encounter with the Akatsuki. We had just saved Gaara, and Sakura killed the Akatsuki member Sasori of the Red Sand. But ever since then she had been acting slightly different, she tried to hide it with her smile but I could see through it._

_As I looked at the falling pink petals I said, "Eh, Sakura-chan are you alright?"_

_She didn't turn my way as she said, "What makes you think that I feel sad Naruto?"_

_I sighed and righted myself so that I was leaning on the tree next to her now. I turned my head to her and said, "Cut the crap Sakura-chan. Ever since you fought that Sasori guy you have been acting different…what happened back there?"_

_She sighed and ran her hand through her growing pink hair and said, "I don't know. When I was fighting him…it just didn't feel right. I didn't want to kill him, and I could see that he was holding back on me; it was in his eyes. Is there something wrong with me Naruto?"_

_I could see the confusion in her eyes so I put a strong hand on her shoulder and said, "Nothing is wrong with you, don't even think that for a second. You are strong, kind, and my best friend. I know that you might be hurt and confused…but if you ever need anything, anything at all, you know you can come to me or Kakashi….I mean he is your dad I guess."_

_She shook her head and smiled at me. She then said, "How is it that you always know how to cheer me up."_

_I blushed a bit and rubbed the back of my head saying, "I am Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja."_

_She shook her head again and looked back at the falling blossoms, and then her eyes lost some of their light. She looked at them, her namesake, sadly._

_Seeing this I said, "What else is bothering you?"_

_She kept on looking at the flowers and said, "Sasori commented on my name and its meaning when I fought with him. You know why Sakura's are seen as something beautiful?"_

_I stayed silent, I really had no idea. So she continued saying, "They have short lives. They bloom and are beautiful, but that beauty is fleeting. They are there for a second and then they wither away and die. Sakura's are seen mostly for their short life."_

_I saw what she was getting at so I said, "That doesn't mean that you will have a short life."_

_She kept her eyes on the blossoms and whispered, "You never know."_

_End Flashback_

I realized now that she was right. She was only eighteen, same age as Sasuke and I, and she was lying dead in Sasuke's arms. Like a wilted flower. There were so many things she didn't tell me, all the hurt and suspicion she kept hidden inside; taking everything on her own. I was her friend; I should have protected her with everything I had.

I hated that memory of us sitting under the cherry blossom tree now. It only reminded me that I couldn't protect someone precious to me, someone I considered a sister. She didn't deserve any of this; she still had so much to live for. She was a Kage, a powerful ninja, kind and loving; she was everything. This would not be the end of her; I just knew it in my heart.

With an even more strengthen determination, Sasuke and I surged ahead to where we _would_ get her back.

I would never lose hope.

_**Somewhere in the Forest on the border of Sound and Leaf: Itachi POV**_

I couldn't do anything except run. Run towards _her_, towards the one that I love. Emotions I have never felt filled up and boiled inside of me, threatening to break through. I felt like crying, shouting, breaking down, tearing out trees, losing everything.

But I couldn't. Not if I wanted to get to Sakura.

I had to keep moving forward, I had to keep thinking that she would be alright. Pein, Nagato now, would bring her back. He cared about her just as much as I did and he would do anything to save her; anything. As I would. She and Sasuke were the only ones I had left in this world to love. I couldn't let anything happen to them.

I knew Sasuke was alright, considering that, knowing Sakura, she sacrificed herself to save him and Uzumaki. She was so stupid sometimes. Why would she do this at all, didn't she know what her death would do to everyone around her?

_Of course she did_, I thought_, she probably knew full well what she was doing. She was only thinking of other and not herself; that is who she is after all. That is one of the many reasons I love her. _

Sakura would do anything for the people she cared about, even if it meant dying. I just couldn't help to think of my nightmares, the nightmares she _saw_, had come true right before me. All my fears were realized, and I could do nothing except wait.

I knew that the first thing I would do when she came back, because she _would_ come back to me, is lecture her on how stupid she was and then I would kiss her, also hugging the living daylights out of her. I bet that she would probably be lectured for quite a while, probably by Nagato, Kakashi, and Konan the most.

Thinking of them I looked their way. Nagato was on my right, Konan next to him, and Sasori next to her. The three of them weren't even trying to hide their emotions now; no they were leaking and pouring out like a tidal wave.

Nagato looked straight ahead with narrowed eyes, totally and completely focused on the chakras of Naruto and Sasuke. The red haired man was trying to control his pain that he was feeling. Being thrust back into his body was taking a toll on him, I could see, but I knew that he would pull through. He was a Kuroyoi after all, and they were probably even more stubborn than my own Uchiha clan.

Konan was another story. Tears were falling steadily down her face, her eyes trying to stay steel cold but having a hard time doing so. She was like a mother to Sakura from what I heard and seen. Growing up as orphans during a time of war in Ame had taken its toll on her as well, and since Sakura was only a baby, Konan had felt the need to become a loving mother towards her. Sakura was a little strange when it came to aging, since she should only be a year younger than Nagato (around 27 or 28) she appeared as an eighteen year old. I asked why this was to Konan, and she only told me that those with the Rinnegan appeared to age slower than normal human beings.

As the tears fell down Konan's face, Nagato took notice and put a hand on her shoulder while still jumping through the trees. Their Akatsuki cloaks, which the four of us wore, billowed behind them at Nagato's action.

My attention then turned to the last member of our rescue party; Sasori. Even his normally bored expression was tense with worry. His red hair was disheveled from the recent battle; his cheek had a cut on it with blood running down it. I could tell that no longer being a puppet was still a strange concept to him, and that the feeling of pain was strange to his new flesh. But there was the strangest glint in his brown eyes that I couldn't help to notice. It looked like remorse with regret.

I knew that Sasori still felt horrible for stabbing Sakura through the gut when they fought two or three years ago. I remember that when he was revived by Nagato that his first question was if Sakura was alright. Apparently he missed her vital organs on purpose, but he was still worried about the damage he caused her. He cared deeply for Sakura, and I know that at one point he loved her, and he still does. But something stopped him from acting on his feelings, something that still remains a mystery to me this very day. But I'm glad he didn't act on them, otherwise I would never have gotten to have Sakura to myself.

I could see that others, namely people that hated the Akatsuki still, were thinking that I had become possessive of her, but that was not the case. In all actuality, I would have let her go if she didn't love me back. I would always love her, but I would only be her friend and protector, and I would respect her decision. I wasn't as evil as I lead people to believe, it was all just a façade so that others wouldn't know the truth of everything I have done to protect those precious to me.

We kept going faster and faster through the treetops. I could feel that we were getting closer to where Sasuke and Naruto were. It felt as if they were moving towards us. I activated my Shaningan and looked ahead, to see two distinct chakra signatures.

"Nagato," I yelled over to him.

"I know! They are heading our way, let's move," He shouted back at us through the wind.

Sasuke and Naruto were heading our way; I could only hope that Sakura's body wasn't damaged beyond repair. But it wouldn't matter either way, as long as she came back to us, back to me.

_**Forests Bordering Sound and Leaf: Naruto POV**_

And that's when I felt it. Sasuke and I had been running for a while now, and we were losing chakra slowly; I wasn't sure how much farther we would be able to go. Fighting against Madara and losing all of this chakra was taking its toll. But, as if Kami were looking down on us, I felt four very familiar chakra signatures. One of which was our only hope to bring Sakura back.

I turned my head sharply to Sasuke and said, "Sasuke do you feel it?"

Sasuke would have felt it faster if he had his Shaningan activated. But since his eye was still slowly bleeding he couldn't activate it. I was hoping that he felt it; I didn't want it to be an illusion, a trick into thinking that we were _so_ close to reviving our best friend.

"Ah," he said deeply, "I feel them too; they found us."

I sighed in relief, happy to know I wasn't the only one feeling their chakra. As if on cue, the four Akatsuki members, adorned in their red and black cloaks, flew out of the tree tops and landed in front of us. As Sasuke and I stopped, Sasuke held Sakura closer to his chest, obscuring her from the view of the others.

"Itachi," Sasuke said painfully at his brother.

I looked at the elder Uchiha to see that his eyes were trained on Sasuke's huffing form and the small, delicate body that was clutched in his arms.

"How bad is the damage?" Konan asked.

Knowing she was talking about Sakura, Sasuke said, "Stabbed in the stomach, but the bleeding has stopped."

"Let me see her," Konan commanded gently.

"I suggest we do this on the ground," Sasori said quickly.

We just nodded and jumped down to the ground; Sakura still in Sasuke's arms.

"Sasuke put her down," Itachi commanded, his voice full of authority with slight shakes to it.

Sasuke reluctantly crouched down to the ground and loosened his hold on the pinkette. He gently laid her down on the ground; her bloody hair fell around her, the red and white cloak she wore was in tatters, and the gapping hold in her stomach was all but evident.

I held in my tears as I looked at her broken form; yet that small smile remained.

Konan kneeled on the ground next to Sakura and started to heal her. The green medical chakra emitted from her hands as she put them over Sakura's body.

As she did this I asked, "What are you doing to her?"

Nagato, who I just realized was in a new body, said softly, "Healing her; Sakura needs to be at least half-way healed if what I want to do has any chance at working. If she isn't, she will be in much more pain than she should when she wakes up."

"Um, okay," was my small answer as I looked at ground.

Trying to pull attention off of Sakura for a moment I asked Nagato, "What happened to your body?"

Nagato, whose eyes never left Sakura, said slowly, "I had of my Six Paths put back into my real body. What you are seeing now is what I truly look like, my other body, the Pein, was the corpse of my friend. If you have any more questions about it, I'm sure Sakura will be able to answer them."

I nodded numbly as I sat down; exhausted from everything that had just happened. Sasuke did the same, but still kept a watchful eye on Sakura's prone form. Sasuke and I had very little chakra left; it wasn't so surprising considering that we took down Madara. We had injures ranging from cuts and bruises to stab wounds and broken limbs. The both of us still had dry tear tracks on our faces that ran over all of the dirt and blood.

Sasori looked slightly uncomfortable as he asked, "What has become of Madara?"

Sasuke looked my way, and I nodded, answering, "He's dead. Sakura sacrificed herself to put something called Divine Extraction," at this Nagato started and Konan twitched, "it sealed away almost all of Madara's power. When Sakura….died in my arms Sasuke and I lost control and killed Madara."

I then looked at Sasuke again and asked, "The eye stop bleeding yet?"

He put a hand to his eye and said, "Yeah…finally."

Itachi then looked at his brother, wrenching his eyes away from Sakura. I saw a worried expression cross his face as he looked at his younger brother as he asked, "Which one of you delivered the final blow?"

Sasuke remained silent, so I breathed out in a heavy sigh, "Sasuke."

Itachi just looked at Sasuke, and Sasuke looked at the ground. I knew that Sasuke was scared of himself, worried that he might lose control. I also knew that Itachi was worried about Sakura, but Sasuke as well. I had a feeling that Sasuke would be spending a lot of time with his older brother after all of this calmed down.

My eyes went back to where Konan was healing Sakura's dead body, and I could see small tears falling from the blue haired woman's eyes. I then looked at Sakura's body to see that the skin had grown over where she was stabbed, and her minor cuts had also been healed, but her arm that got stabbed was still slightly open.

Konan stood up fast and said, "I healed her as much as I could, the rest is up to you Nagato."

Nagato nodded and sunk down to where his sister lied. He stroked the top of her head, moving the pink red tinted hair out of her face. He then closed his eyes as he placed both of his hands on Sakura's chest. There was a moment of dead silence as all five of us waited and watched.

Nagato's eyes then suddenly snapped open, his Rinnegan burning bright; it looked imitating. Then a bright white chakra was emitted from his hands, he was using all of his Paths for this reviving technique. As the white chakra got brighter he whispered, "Divine Rebirth."

**~Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just the plot**

**And there you have it folks! I now…another cliffy…please don't kill me! If you kill me I won't be able to write the LAST TWO CHAPTERS. That's right, only two chapters left.**

**This one was mostly written so that we could get the main characters POV's of Sakura's death, especially Itachi and Naruto since they are my favorite guys in the series :) **

**Oh and SPOILER: some part of Sakura will die, it could be that she stays dead or some part of her will be killed off…you never know!;)**

**And this is the third update in one week (I hope you are all very happy) and I'm sad yet happy that this story will come to a close I mean, come on I made 35 freakin chapters so far! And I do it because I love you all and your all very supportive of my first fanfic.**

**So I hope you all enjoyed this Christmas gift from me of three updates in one week! Please Review once more and Happy Holidays!**

**P.S. I might do chapter 36 next week…**


	36. Rebirth

_**Location Unknown**_

I was drifting in blackness, or was I floating? It was too hard to tell. I didn't know where I was, all I knew was that I was dead. This black abyss was never ending, never starting. It was just cold and dark.

As I floated, or drifted, in the blackness my hair swayed around me. I felt tired and sore. Considering I knew I just died I guess it made sense. My body didn't have any wounds; no it was just my smooth pale skin. I was in the attire I was in before I died, and it wasn't in tatters either.

I tried to move in the darkness. I couldn't help to wonder if this was Heaven or Hell. Or was it neither? Was I forever destined to stay in this place of no light?

So many questions with no answers. I hugged myself in the darkness, trying to keep myself together. I closed my eyes and tried to cling to the warmth that wasn't there. I stayed like this for a while, not thinking, not feeling, just _being_.

I peeked open an eye, looking around in the never ending darkness, or so I thought. At closer inspection I could see the tiniest hints of a small light, as large as a needle at least. I uncurled myself from my ball and tried to move, or I guess swim over to the white light. The darkness was so thick, so hard to move in.

But I didn't care; I had to get to that light. Something in me just felt the need to go to it; I yearned to go to it. So I willed my body to move through the darkness and towards that small needle of light.

I could see it getting closer as I moved, so I swam faster. I was close enough now to feel the faintest hint of warm heat coming from it. It was so much better than this dank darkness, I only wanted that white light to envelope me in an embrace, even if it would only be for a second.

I was so very close now, _so close_. I used all the energy I had and stuck out a hand. As soon as my fingertips touched the needle of light there was a bright flash of the white light. It blinded me, so I shut my eyes and waited for the light to go down.

When I sensed it was over I slowly opened my eyes, and now instead of being surrounded in blackness I was surrounded by light, and beneath me stood water. I walked on the water, taking notice that it was easier to move in this light than in the darkness. As I walked on the water, small ripples went out from my feet. I kept walking and a small piece of paper caught my attention.

On the water right in front of me there laid a piece of paper, with what looked like a seal. I crouched down to pick it up and inspected it closely. As I narrowed my eyes at it I remembered where I had seen this seal before; on the bars within my mind.

My demon's seal.

"Look who finally made it," a voice sneered from behind me.

My head shot up, I then stood up and whirled around to come face to face with what looked like a women with fire licked wings. She had long choppy red hair, her eyes golden, and she adorned a red, orange, and gold kimono that had fire patterns on it. Her face was fierce and demanded attention. She looked at me with something akin to confidence.

She walked forward at me and said in a wispy voice, "You remember me right Saku?"

Her wings then lowered and simmered out, as if she was extinguishing her own wings. I was still slightly in shock at her sudden appearance as I said, "My demon right?"

She walked across the water and poked my forehead and said proudly, "Correct."

I looked at her and said, "We're both dead aren't we."

She crossed her arms and backed up from me as she said, "Yes, sadly you got the both of us killed by that Uchiha bastard, but he's gone now." I took the hint; what she just said meant that Naruto and Sasuke killed him.

I sat down on the water and propped my head on my knees as I said, "So you're a fire demon…why am I not surprised."

She sat down in front of me and waved an elegant hand in front of her face. "Oh please, why do you think that you are so great with fire jutsus when your real affinity is wind? Me of course."

I shook my head and asked, "So are we stuck here forever?"

Her golden eyes pierced me as she said, "Well, Saku that may be true, but it may also not be true."

"We probably are," I answered in a sigh, "Nagato could have never gotten to me in time with how far away we were from each other…guess I broke my promise to him."

"Well if you go back to the world of the living, I won't be coming back with you," she said. I gave her a questioning look so she continued saying, "Why the hell would I go back into the seal to be trapped behind those bars inside your mind? I'm finally free you dummy."

"So we just sit here and talk for all eternity?" I said with a giggle.

At this she scoffed and said, "Not if I can help it. I have been stuck with you since you were seven, freaking seven years old Saku! Do you know how annoying it is for demons to be stuck in vessels who are kids? I feel bad for One and Nine-Tails, they were stuck with their own idiot children since birth."

I laughed and said, "Oh come on I wasn't that bad," she growled at this, "and plus I think it's better than having no one."

She just nodded at that and then her expression became serious as she looked off into the never ending light. I too looked around me as I put my hands behind me to support myself on the water, moving my legs in front of me. It was a comfortable silence we had between us, and I could say that I was truly content with spending the rest of the afterlife here with my demon.

She then looked at me and said, "You know…I really do miss my kind sometimes. When you were with that blond idiot I was able to talk to Kyuubi, but that was all the interaction that I had with demons."

I looked at the beautiful women sadly and said, "I can't really imagine what it would be like to not be with your own kind…I guess it would suck."

She scoffed, "To put it bluntly yes. Being a demon tossed around from vessel to vessel isn't exactly everyone's dream."

I played with my long locks as I said, "Sorry about that I guess."

She waved a hand in front of her face and said, "You were actually the first vessel I kind of liked actually Saku."

My eyes widened a bit, and I gave her a questioning look. She answered my look saying, "I found you pleasant sometime. Hell, you were my only interesting vessel. I mean come on, sister to the leader of Akatsuki, Amekage, medical genius, monster strength, hot-headed like me; you have all the traits that make a demon's life interesting."

I huffed and said, "Well what about that one time when you decided that you wanted out of the seal when I was on that mission in Snow with Itachi and Kisame?"

She laughed and said, "Hey I was bored, so what?"

I then shook my head to her and asked, "What's your true name?" I don't know why I didn't ask before; I guess it just slipped my mind.

She stared at me blankly and said, "Houou."

I pondered her name for a moment before saying, "Phoenix Demon? Well I guess it suits you."

She then smirked a bit and said, "You know that the phoenix is known for rebirth right?"

I nodded and then she said, "Well I think someone is coming to our little realm, maybe to bring you back or something," she shrugged with a glint in her golden eyes and said, "How am I supposed to know."

Someone else coming? What did that mean, did someone I know die? How did she know that someone was coming here? Before I could voice my questions there was a sudden red spark in the air between me and Houou. I don't know what came over me but I reached out towards the small spark and before I could touch it, Houou said with a smirk, "Going back it is, have fun Saku."

Barely registering what she was saying I touched the small spark.

And that's when the red light engulfed my entire being.

_**Forests between Sound and Leaf**_

My eyes snapped open and I lurched forward. I didn't feel the hands that were now on my back trying to steady me, I didn't notice all of the people standing around me, I just kept blinking over and over trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

One moment I'm with Houou, then I'm touching a red spark, and now I'm in a forest. Didn't all of the crazy stuff end when you were dead?

I got in control of myself as I felt the sudden pain of my stomach and moved my hand to it. I then felt arms wrap around me suddenly. I was met with red hair.

The person holding me in their arms pulled back as I gave a gasp, still in pain from my wounds that were now very apparent. I then slowly this time, looked up into the concerned eyes that mirrored my own. I whispered, "Nagato…did you die too? What's going on?"

Nagato was full and healthy again, something I hadn't seen since Yahito was killed. The face that resembled our father was right in front of me, I was confused. Is this what Houou meant when she said that someone else would be joining us? Did he die?

Nagato shook his head and said, "Sakura I need you calm down please."

I nodded slowly and took deep breaths. Seeing that I was calm now he said, "You died…you were killed by Madara," I nodded knowing as much, "Your friends killed him, and brought your corpse to me. I brought you back."

"But, but, you're in your real body, not the Path," I sputtered, "What's happening?"

I sighed and held my head, then looked at my brother who was right in front of me. I studied him closely and saw that he had water in his ringed eyes and a small smile on his smooth face. Finally understanding everything he did for me, I grabbed him and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him as much as I could even though I was still in a lot of pain.

He responded fast by holding me as well; putting his head on my shoulder and I put mine on his chest. He then whispered in my ear, "You had me so scared you know that?"

"Sorry," I said lamely.

We stayed like that for a while, and when I pulled back I was rubbing tears from my eyes. I was just so happy right now.

Since we were still on the forest floor, Nagato took my hand and helped me up. We got up slowly, and I once again felt my stomach. It was hurting but nothing I couldn't fix, for my body was already reacting and healing itself, my chakra levels now full with the rejuvenation and all.

I looked to in front of me to see Konan with tears falling down her face, and a real smile on her face. Sasori was grinning with his arms crossed, and the Uchiha brothers were standing next to each other with wide eyes; they both had actual genuine smiles on their faces while looking at me. But someone was missing…

"SAKURA-CHAN YOU IDIOT WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND SCARE ME AND TEME LIKE THAT?" was a shout from behind me.

I felt pressure on my back as I fell forward. Naruto was now hugging me so hard, and the smooth grass beneath me rubbed against my cheek. I heard him saying over and over how big of an idiot I was and that I should never worry him like that again and that he missed me.

My tears started to run freely now as I wiggled under Naruto laughing. He pulled off of me and helped me up and rubbed the back of his head saying, "Sorry Sakura-chan."

I lunged forward at him and hugged him tightly burying myself in his chest, "I missed you too Naruto, sorry."

He rubbed my back and said nothing.

I then pulled away once again wiping the tears away from my eyes. Naruto then was hit in the head by Sasuke as he said, "Dobe, she's still injured."

I shook my head at them and said, "I'm fine Sasuke-kun."

Then I was in another embrace, a gentler one at that. Sasuke then whispered, "You know if you do anything like that again I will kick your ass."

I laughed and said, "Yeah I know."

Then there was another pair of arms around both Sasuke and I. Naruto was holding the three of us together, and I was being crushed in the middle of my boys. Naruto then said, "Take that Madara! Team 7 kicked your sorry ass. You stupid old man!"

I shook my head and wiggled out of the hug. Naruto let go of Sasuke and rubbed his head as Sasuke once again hit him in the backside of the head. I shook my head at their antics.

My eyes then turned to ebony ones, clear black eyes. Itachi stared at me for a second before walking, more like gliding, over to me with his arms at his sides. He stopped only inches away from me and said, "Why do you do this to me Sakura?"

I looked at the ground ashamed and said, "Madara's dead that's all that matters."

Itachi shook his head at me and put a finger under my chin raising my head. He then said, "But you still died, like you did in my dreams...I almost lost you."

I then grabbed his hand and said, "And I'm sorry for that, but I'm back now. I'm sore and tired so can we save the lecturing for later. I'm sure that I will get plenty of it," I grumbled.

Itachi then kissed me on the lips gently. I kissed him back, leaning into the gentle caress. He then slowly raised his hands so that one was wrapped around my back while the other rested on my head. By doing this the kiss broke and he was now embracing me saying, "I love you."

It was muffled in his chest (I hate being so small), but I was able to say, "I love you too my little weasel."

I heard Itachi snicker at his nickname I had for him. But he still held onto me.

When we broke apart Nagato came up to Itachi and said, "Uchiha, if I find out that you hurt her in any way I will personally dismember your entire body."

Itachi looked at him passively as he said, "Hn."

"Damn Uchiha," Konan said from behind Nagato.

Then Naruto shouted, "Yeah Itachi! If Sasuke and I find out your doing bad things to our Sakura-chan we'll kick your sorry ass. Plus I bet Kakashi will help us too!"

I sighed while leaning on Itachi for support. Itachi then whispered in my ear, "Why am I starting to get the feeling that my love for you is now a hazard to my health?"

I snickered and said, "Because it is considering who my brother is as well as adoptive father and teammates."

Itachi just shook his head and kissed the top of my head gently. I smiled a small smile and looked at everyone I loved, everyone who loved me. Being brought back to life and thrust back into my body was still a shock, but I think I could deal with it. I had everything anyone could ever need, ever want.

I leaned into Itachi more as I said, "Let's go home."

_**Joint Shinobi Force HQ: One Week Later**_

It has been a week since my revival, and a lot has happened. The Kages, which included Nagato and me, were doing our best to clean up the aftermath of the war. Good people had died, and we needed to tell their families all that they did for them. We still were tending to the wounded; Tsunade and I took care of most of it while the other Kages did the other work.

We were also still getting the civilians out from the underground village in Suna and sending them back to their respectful village. Divisions 1, 2, and 4 were taking care of that.

After everything was picked up at the Joint Shinobi Force HQ, all the Kages would be signing a peace treaty with each other. This is what I, and most of the other ninjas, were excited about. Finally there would be peace between the nations, and with the treaty the Akatsuki and Ame would be accepted and welcomed into the pact of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Ame would finally have peace from the constant struggle and crime, and Akatsuki would have its goal; peace.

I remember when we came back; I was being held in Itachi's arms while the rest followed. As we entered HQ, Tsunade, Kakashi, Kisame and Deidara were the first to greet us.

Naruto and Sasuke told them that Madara was dead and it was over. They all had smiles and smirks on their faces. Then their eyes turned to me. I rubbed the back of my head, knowing that I was going to get a lecture. And boy did I get one.

All four of them, even Deidara, lectured me about how stupid I was and reckless. But then they smiled and said that they were glad to see me alive and with a hole-less stomach. It was a great moment at first, but the other Kages returned and Gaara broke the news to us that the Kages who went after Kabuto couldn't find him.

This of course put a damper on our success, but not for long. When the ninjas were told of Madara's death there was a celebration, where Rain, Leaf, Sand, Rock, Mist, and Cloud nin rejoiced together all prejudice lost. It was an amazing sight to watch in my opinion.

At this current point in time I was finishing up with helping to pack away the medical tents. We finally finished with healing the injured and we were going home.

I looked behind me to see Tsunade looking at me with proud eyes. The busty blond came up to me and clamped a hand on my shoulder saying, "I'm very proud of what you have done here Sakura. I could have never asked for a better student."

I smiled up at her and put a strand of hair behind my ears. "I learned everything I have from you," I said, "Without your teachings I probably would have never been able to do any of this."

She lifted her hand to ruffle my hair and said, "Well you are a fast learner lucky for you. And thank you by the way, I actually won a bet."

A little shocked I looked at her wit wide eyes. Tsunade winning a bet? Really? "Huh?" was my well thought out answer.

She took her hand off my head and put her head down to my level smirking, "Some of the ANBU and myself decided to make a bet. I said that you would be able to make the Akatsuki ally with us, some said that you wouldn't. And it looks like I won."

I shook my head and said sarcastically, "Thanks for having _so_ much faith in me."

She turned around and said, "Oh and by the way, Jiraiya and I have something to tell you, Naruto, and Sasuke later."

Not knowing what to say I just nodded, and she walked away.

_**1 Hour Later**_

I wiped my hands together seeing that all of the medical supply was packed and ready to go. I sighed a bit as I leaned on the back of a lone pole, thinking about what Houou said. I was glad that she thought of me in as a friend in a way, and that we got along while we could. She was right about the phoenix being the rebirth, I did come back to life after all…I just can't help to wonder what happened to Houou.

Another thing I noticed that was strange was the silence. I was used to hearing the sounds of minds buzzing all around me, but now I couldn't. I thought it over and deduced that I had my mind reading ability from Houou. I think that I might miss it, even though it was a pain in the ass sometimes.

I looked up at the sounds of footsteps to see Sasuke walking over to me.

Sasuke. Things have also changed between us, I actually trusted him. During the fight with Madara I kept an eye out on him just in case he went to Madara's side; turning his back on Naruto and me once more. But he didn't, no he stuck with us and delivered the final blow to Madara. After that battle I felt that Team 7 was once again full, a family as we used to be. I even started to call him Sasuke-kun again; his name no longer felt bitter on my tongue.

He was now a foot away from me so I said, "Hey Sasuke-kun…what do you need?"

"Sorry."

My head jerked at his word, the one word he hated to say, the word he used to think meant weakness.

I said slowly, "What are you talking about?"

He ran an irritated hand through his hair and said, "I said sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he finished turning his head away in shame.

I took in his words, thinking that he had no reason to be sorry. I was alive and running, not dead and in the ground. He shouldn't be sorry for something I chose.

"Sasuke-kun, don't say you're sorry," I said and his head shot back up, "I chose to sacrifice myself so that you and Naruto could finish Madara off without dying. You have no reason to feel guilty, and I already told you and Naruto this."

His onyx eyes bore into my own emerald ones as he said, "You don't understand…I was _scared_ at the thought of losing you. You said for us to cry at your grave, and that's when I couldn't stand it. You're like a sister to me…and I _lost_ you because I wasn't strong enough to protect you..."

I shook my head and walked forward saying, "Well now you're babbling, and that's not the Sasuke Uchiha I know and love. I know that whatever your feeling won't go away so quickly, but at least know that no one blames you for anything. Hell, you're the hero. If you keep wallowing in self-pity I'll have to ask Itachi to talk to you."

At this his eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't."

I smirked and said, "Well…actually no I would."

I put a hand on his shoulder and said, "We can talk about your little guilt trip later, for now we have a meeting with Tsunade and Jiraiya right?"

Sasuke ran a hand through his black hair again and said, "Hn," as he walked forward waiting for me to start as well.

I shook my head and walked besides him with my hands behind my back, and he with his hands at his sides.

Our silent walk led us to the Kage building where Naruto was waiting by the front waving at the two of us. I waved back at him and Sasuke nodded his head. Naruto then ran up to us and said, "Granny Tsunade told me to wait for the two of you, so let's go!"

When he shouted he grabbed both of our hands and dragged us into the building. As he ran with Sasuke and my hands we busted through the doors and stopped right in front of all the Kages. Now when Naruto is running at high speed and is forced to stop there is a reaction and that reaction his him falling on the floor thus throwing Sasuke and I on top of him.

As I fell on top of Naruto and Sasuke fell on top of me, I groaned and looked up at the Kages, who all stared at us with slight shock, laughter, or just plain mirth. The Tsuchikage then whispered, "Young ones these days."

I forced a small laugh as I saw my brother peering down at me and my predicament. I then said in a sickly sweet voice, "Sasuke-kun if you value your life, get off of me."

At my words Sasuke quickly scrambled off of me and helped me up. Naruto then slowly got up and rubbed the back of his head saying, "Um…hi?"

At this I hit him on his head and said, "You baka, why did you make us all fall?"

"Dobe," Sasuke breathed out.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch why did you do that Sakura-chan? That was-"Naruto said but then was cut off by Tsunade when she shouted, "Shut up! I swear you three are more trouble than you're worth sometimes."

She rubbed at her temples and said, "Well Jiraiya how about you tell them since they are one second away from me punching them through a wall."

Jiraiya laughed and said, "Sure, Tsunade. Okay you three," He said pointing at the three of us (we were now paying attention), "We have some news to tell you, and I'm sure that you'll like it Naruto."

"You mean I get unlimited ramen for the rest of my life?" Naruto shouted in glee.

Jiraiya sighed as the Raikage spoke up and asked, "Are you sure that these three should be the new ones?"

Nagato glared at the Raikage and said, "I believe that my sister and her friends are fully capable."

Jiraiya ran a hand through his long white hair and said, "Okay back to what I was saying. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke you know how me, Tsunade, and Orochimaru are the three Sannins right?" we nodded so he continued saying, "Well Orochimaru is dead and, no offense Tsunade, we are getting old," Tsunade stepped on his foot and he cringed but continued, "Well what I'm trying to say is that you three are the new Legendary Sannins."

At Jiraiya's words all three of us started a bit. I guess that it would make sense since our teachers were the Sannin, but it was still a slight shock. Nagato must have noticed so he added his two cents saying, "The three of you saved this world from absolute destruction, all of us believe you deserve these titles, wouldn't you agree Sakura?"

I sighed and said, "Sure whatever you guys say."

Naruto put his hand behind his head saying, "I'll be a Sannin _and_ the Hokage once Granny Tsunade retires!"

Sasuke just smirked saying, "Baka."

I laughed as the two of them started to bicker, then I noticed a slight flicker at my right to see that Kakashi decided to appear. When Tsunade noticed that he was there she said, "Late as always Kakashi."

His eye crinkled and said, "Lost on the road of life I guess," He then turned to Naruto, Sasuke, and I saying, "I'm proud of all three of you, I don't think I could've asked for better students."

I grinned and said, "Well we are a handful, so someone needed to be our sensei."

Kakashi still had his eye crinkle as he put one hand atop my head and said, "Not only could I've asked for better students, but I couldn't have asked for a better daughter or family."

My smile got larger as I jumped up and hugged him, which he returned with arms entrapping me. He held me close and I couldn't help but to think just how amazing my family was. I had Team 7 and the Akatsuki, two of the greatest families in the world if you ask me.

It wasn't long before I felt pressure against my back and head Naruto laughing and Sasuke grumbling. Naruto had dragged him and Sasuke into the hug so that I was in the middle, Kakashi and Sasuke were on either side of me, and Naruto had all of us encircled in his long arms. I guess you could call it a Team 7 sandwich.

"Well," Tsunade said in a haughty voice, "If you four are all done with your team bonding I suggest you go and get some rest for the move tomorrow, we will be leaving at noon." As we untangled ourselves from each other she continued asking me, "Where will you go tomorrow Sakura?"

Really she meant are you going back to Ame or Konoha. The obvious choice was to go back to Konoha since the agreement I made with Nagato was now null and void. But I wasn't sure. If I went to Konoha and not Ame I would be leaving behind the responsibility of my Kage duties, my family, the citizens of Ame that I have come to love, and I would be leaving Itachi. Itachi and I just realized our feelings for each other and I wasn't ready to let go. I know that he would respect my decision to go where I wanted, and if he was ever let back in Konoha it wouldn't be pleasant. I could already see the villager's hateful glares at him; they would never know the truth of the Uchiha massacre so they would always blame Itachi. But Itachi was accepted in Ame, as was I.

I felt my team's stares directed at me, waiting for an answer. So I said with a smile while looking at Nagato, whose face was also expectant, "I will be going back to Ame with my brother and the Akatsuki."

Tsunade smiled and said, "I had a feeling you would go back there."

Naruto sighed and said, "Well I guess when I become Hokage I will have to be making a lot of trips to Ame, and you can come too teme!"

Sasuke just said, "Hn."

I snickered a bit and said, "And when do you think you are finally going to be Hokage Naruto?"

He rubbed the back of his head, grinned widely and said, "Well Sakura-chan, Granny Tsunade said that she will retire in a month and during that month she will teach me everything there is to know about being Hokage."

I looked towards Tsunade for confirmation and she nodded saying, "The baka here will learn everything he will need to know, and he will do an amazing job just like his father."

The Tsuchikage then scoffed and said, "Why is it that we will be having _three_ young teens ruling over countries?"

Gaara spoke up saying, "I would think that by now we have proven our worth to you."

The Raikage then slapped Gaara harshly on the back, sending Gaara stumbling slightly. The Raikage's voice then boomed, "I believe that having these kids will help bring our nations even closer, considering they are already friends it seems."

The Mizukage then got up in my brother's face, but Nagato remained impassive as she said, "I heard that those with the Rinnegan age slower than normal humans, so how old are _you_ Nagato-san?"

"Technically I am 28 years old," he said in his monotone not at all imitated by the Mizukage's closeness.

Jiraiya then grinned and asked, "I remember that Sakura was only a child when I trained you Nagato, so how old is she?"

I put I finger to my chin thinking about it. I really didn't keep track of my age; I just knew that I was a year younger than Nagato. So I said, "Well I appear to look eighteen but I'm really 27."

At my words Naruto's jaw dropped as he screamed, "WHAT? YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE OLDER THAN ME AND TEME!"

Sasuke, Gaara, and Kakashi just stared at me with wide eyes not saying anything. Tsunade then said, "I'm tired so how about you get out and go to bed all of you."

It wasn't a question but a command so we all listened and filed out of the Kage building and went back to our own tents after saying our goodnights. I walked back with a small smile on my face, and basked in the comfortable silence between Nagato and I. The wind picked up slightly as our tent came into sight, so my long pink braid swayed as well as Nagato's red hair. I was glad to see the red hair, knowing that I was not always looking at the shell of my brother but my brother's real self; it made me happy.

Nagato reached in front of me for the tent flap opening it for both me and him. I stepped through to see that everyone was up, either on their cot or standing up. At the arrival of Nagato and me all five of their heads turned our way. I smiled and said, "Okay guys we are going to need some sleep since we are leaving at noon tomorrow and we have to lead all of our shinobi home."

I yawned and walked over to cot, not even bothering to take off my black spandex shorts, red tube top with a fishnet one underneath. I was too tired from the meeting and the final cleanup to tell them that I had become one of the new Sannin, but that could wait till morning.

As I drifted to sleep the noise of talking died and slowly all of the Akatsuki was asleep, or so I thought. I was almost sleeping but the sudden movement of the cot next to me made my eye flicker open. I didn't see Itachi on his cot, and as I was about to sit up I felt pressure on top of my head. My eyes looked up to see black hair draping over me. Seems like Itachi wanted to kiss my head before going to sleep.

His voice then whispered in my ear, "May I lay next to you?"

At his sudden request my breath hitched a bit. Itachi has never asked for anything like that before, so I found it a little strange. Itachi must have taken it the wrong way because I could see his retreating form going back to his own cot. So I snapped my arm out to grab his wrist.

I then whispered while clutching his wrist, "You can."

I felt him stop moving for a second, but then Itachi turned his body back to me and I let go of his wrist so that I could scoot over some. He laid himself down next to me, turning his body to me. I smiled and closed my eyes at him, turning my back to him and said, "Goodnight."

As I was about to go to sleep again, once more something had to interrupt me. I felt arms wrap around my waist and pull my small frame close. Itachi was holding onto me now and his warmth flushed my body all over. I felt his hair tickle my ear as he said, "Goodnight Sakura."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just the plot.**

**~Okay guys what did you think? I didn't kill her off, but her demon is no longer with her so sad face :( **

**Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are the new Sannins so I thought that was pretty cool to throw in there, and when Sakura was dead I want to know you thoughts on that!**

**Oh and there is ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! That chapter will be the epilogue (Spoiler: Children will be involved!)**

**Thank you for all the reviews! And please review once more!**


	37. Epilogue

_**Ame: 7 years later after 4**__**th**__** Great Shinobi War**_

My eyes flittered open as the sunlight poured into our room through the drapes. My pink hair was splayed out all around me, and I felt warm, strong arms around my waist. I smiled a bit, knowing that Itachi was holding me by the waist closely. I made a move to get up but then I was forcefully pushed back down to the bed.

I gasped slightly as I was being pulled down by strong arms. At this Itachi said in a husky voice, "There is no need to get up yet, lay down for a little while longer Blossom."

I shook my head and turned my body so that I was facing him. His black hair framed his face nicely, even though it wasn't in its usual pony tail. His clear ebony eyes bore into my own with a look of love in them. I returned his look by snuggling closer to him and kissing his cheek whispering, "Whatever you say Itachi."

As I got closer to him he wrapped his arms around me, encircling me with them. My head was now against his chest, as well as my hands. We seemed to fit perfectly together.

As I lay next to my husband I thought of everything that had happened in the past seven years, this was indeed the day that the war ended after all. When the war ended I went back home to Ame with my brother and Akatsuki. We left the Joint Shinobi Force on good terms, which are still being maintained to this very day.

With new improvements Nagato and I made, Ame had become a place where there was no crime or small wars. It was welcoming and no longer the harsh place it used to be. I loved my village and everyone in it, and they still treated Nagato and I like gods.

I still remember when Naruto and Sasuke first came to visit me in Ame. We walked down the streets of my village, and while we walked there was the normal 'Sakura-sama' and 'Amekage Sakura-sama' here and there. When Naruto questioned it I said that they thought I was a god. The looks on their faces were even more priceless then the time when they found out I was actually older than them.

When Ame was back on its feet, we were able to better the relations with the other Nations. Suna and Konoha were always our good friends. Kiri was now a close third to them when it came to friendships. But Suna and Konoha would always be first considering the Kazekage, Gaara, and Hokage were my friends, one of them being my best friend Naruto.

Yeah the knuckle head finally did it and became Hokage, not very surprising though if you ask me.

Now what has happened to me besides everything I have been doing for Ame? Well, a year after the war ended Itachi asked me to marry him. Of course I complied, why wouldn't I? When I said yes he was given the 'If-you-do-anything-to-hurt-her-Uchiha-I-will-kill-you-in-the-most-painful-way-possible' talk from everyone in Akatsuki, especially Nagato and Konan. Plus my family back in Konoha gave him the same talk.

Oh and did I forget to mention that Itachi and I were able to get Nagato to propose to Konan? We planned it _forever_ and they were now engaged, I was of course the maid of honor and Naruto was going to be the best man amazingly enough (Naruto and Nagato have become very close friends since Naruto became Hokage).

Life was good, peaceful.

I shifted in Itachi's arms so that my back was now facing him, but he still kept me close to him. I sighed in content, happy that he was by my side and that we were happily married.

I then heard the door to our room creak open and a small smile appeared on my face. I slowly opened my eyes to see the curious eyes of our daughter, Ami, staring at me while her hands were bunched up on her lips. She had my emerald eyes and her father's long raven hair. Her skin was like porcelain and she was wearing her red nightgown.

She looked at me with her beautiful green eyes and asked innocently, "Can Mommy and Daddy get up now please?"

I smiled; about to raise a hand to ruffle her hair, but sudden movement on our white bed stopped me from doing so. Itachi hugged me closer as our son, Aki, started to jump on our bed. He was laughing while saying, "Come on Mom, Dad! Today's the day, we have to get ready!"

Itachi groaned and held me closer to him, teasing Aki. I giggled a bit and went under the covers with Itachi. He smirked at me, knowing what Aki would do soon if we didn't come out from the covers. As if on cue, our son pulled the white and black covers off of us and pouted.

I giggled once more and untangled myself from Itachi as we both got up slowly. Ami was now also on our bed next to her twin brother. Aki also had the same emerald eyes as me, but a darker shade then what Ami had. His hair was shaggy and ebony as well, but there was a tiny hint of a pink streak there that he always tried so hard to hide.

He pouted at us and whined, "Coommmmeeee ooonnnnn! We need to get ready if we want to see everyone!"

At this Ami slapped him on the backside of the head and said, "Baka, yelling at them won't do anything, so shut up."

Itachi looked at our twins with warmth as he said kindly, "Well, if you get to the kitchen your mother and I will get up and make some breakfast, how does that sound children?"

Their faces lit up at the prospect of our food, we were _amazing_ cooks, and happily nodded as they bounced off the bed and raced each other to the kitchen.

I smiled lovingly where they went and said, "We're the best parents aren't we Weasel-kun?"

He shook his head at me and smirked saying, "Yes we are Blossom."

He then got off the bed and stretched out a hand for me to pull me up. I accepted it and he pulled me up, but not without sneaking in a quick peck to my forehead. I swatted at him and said, "Come on, let's get our robes on."

He looked at me for a slight second before he nodded and went to go get his black shirt, since he only had his black boxers on.

I then looked down at myself, seeing that I was in my red nightgown, and went to go get my white silk robe, made by Sasori. Not many people would think Sasori could make good clothing, but when he used silk it was just amazing. I slipped on the robe easily, taking small notice to the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back of the robe. The Uchiha symbol had been embroidered into most of my clothes, so it wasn't an unusual sight to see. As I finished putting on the robe a grabbed a spare senbon from our dresser and wrapped my hair around it, putting it into a messy bun.

I was about to walk out the door, but hands were wrapped around my waist stopping me. Itachi then whispered into my ear, "The festival this year is in Ame correct?"

I nodded leaning against him saying, "Yeah, since it was in Cloud last year it's our turn to hold the festival so I'm going to need you to look after Ami and Aki while Nagato and I make the preparations."

He just said, "Hn," as he kissed the side of my neck.

I laughed a bit as he let go of me and we walked down the hallway of our large home together. Being a Kage meant that I could live in whatever home I wanted. So Itachi and I chose a fairly large home right next to the Kage tower and with my brother's home on the other side of our home. So just in case there were any problems Nagato and I could get to the Amekage tower quickly.

But today was a very special day; today was the 7th anniversary of the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War and also the 7th anniversary of peace among the nations. Every year the festival held for these special occasions was held in one of the Hidden Villages that fought in the war, and this year was Ame's turn. Nagato and I had to prepare for the arrival of the Kages, and the shinobi from their villages that came to celebrate.

And that also meant that Nagato couldn't make it rain today, instead he had to focus on clear skies.

I entered the kitchen with Itachi behind me, and we saw that the twins were already setting the table and waiting for us to get cooking. They were especially excited today because they would get to see their Uncle Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and the rest of their 'uncles' from the hidden villages. Plus they missed seeing their Granny Tsunade and Grandpa Kakashi.

Plus there was always their cousins to look forward to.

"What do you want to eat you two?" I questioned as I walked to the stove with Itachi still behind me. The kitchen was large and it was connected to the eating area where there was a traditional Japanese table with four tatami mats. The colors of both the kitchen and eating area were warm hues of brown, with red and white thrown in for accent. Itachi wasn't one for color but when we were doing this house I insisted on some color, and of course he complied.

Aki answered my question saying loudly, "I want some rice balls and tamagoyaki!"

Ami answered in her kind voice saying, "Just some miso soup please Mom."

I smiled and said, "Sure honey, I'll make your soup while Daddy over here can make what you want Aki."

I saw Itachi look at his son and give a real smile, something that only his family ever saw, and went over to get the rice.

As Itachi and I cooked for our children, I couldn't help but to think of how they have grown. When they were first born I was told very often how cute they were by Tsunade who delivered them. Aki was a bit of a goof ball with my temper, but was serious about being a ninja like his father. His features were more like Itachi's since he was lean and tall for his age, only seven years old, but he still had the small pale streak of pink in his hair that he was slightly embarrassed of.

Ami on the other hand was much more like Itachi when it came to mannerisms. She was very polite and straight to the point at times, not liking to dodge around a question. But she had my determination to get stronger and to help anyone she could. Both she and Aki were amazingly skilled like Itachi at their ages. They could do a fair amount of ninjutsu, though Ami was better at it than Aki. When it came to genjutsu Aki was ahead of Ami, but she was improving. But their taijutsu was on the same level since they were being taught by me, plus they both had great chakra control which meant that when they got older I could teach how to shatter the ground, much to Itachi's chagrin.

Itachi and I were done with their food so we brought it to where they were sitting, and sat down with them. Both Itachi and I took some miso soup for ourselves, and watched our kids dig into their food, more Aki than Ami.

I grinned at them, thinking that life couldn't be better. I had a loving husband that I loved, two wonderful twins, great friends who were all very powerful, and a kind yet overprotective brother. Yeah my life was pretty awesome.

As I ate my miso soup Aki spoke up and asked, "Mom, Aunti Konan and Uncle Nagato told me that everyone is coming in the afternoon, is he right?"

I looked up from my soup, smiled and said, "Yeah Uncle Nagato's right. The rest of your aunts, uncles, and cousins will be coming around noon today."

Ami smiled largely and said, "I can't wait to see Minato."

I smirked in my head, thinking of Naruto and Hinata's little seven year old Minato. The boy had his father's crazy blond hair, while he also had his Naruto's eyes, except there were lavender specks in them. I remember when Aki, Ami, and Minato were babies. They were so cute, and Ami had taken a liking to Minato immediately. If I didn't know any better I would think that my daughter had a crush on Naruto's son.

Itachi turned his eyes towards Ami as he said in a cool tone, "I hope you are not developing feelings for this young boy already Ami. He would taint you with his hyper activeness, and you are not allowed to do pranks with him either."

I elbowed my husband, which he gave a small grunt to and looked to Ami saying, "Don't worry dear, your father's just being overprotective again. I think Minato is a nice boy even though he has his father's tendency for pranks."

Ami's face instantly got red as she stumbled, "Th-that's not what I-I meant…I mean….um…just f-forget about it."

Aki laughed at his sister singing, "Ami and Minato sittin' in a tree K-"

Before he could go any further Ami wacked her brother on the backside of his head. He fell from his mat yelling ouch. This was a normal occurrence though, so Itachi and I just watched with pleasure as Ami glared at Aki. Aki would always say something to tick her off, and Ami had amazing strength without the chakra. So of course she would always get violent with him to shut him up.

Aki crawled back up to his mat next to his sister, who he eyed warily. Itachi then turned his full attention to Aki as he said in a voice laced with mirth, "Now what do you have to say to your sister Aki?"

Aki pouted and crossed his arms, mumbling under his breath. Itachi said, "I could not hear you, may you please say it again louder this time."

Aki sighed and glanced at his sister saying, "Sorry."

I smiled and said, "Now that's my good boy!"

His pout went away as he looked at me and smiled, running a hand through his shaggy raven locks.

After that little episode we all got our plates and bowls, and brought them to the sink. I washed them, while Itachi dried them and put them away. Once we were done with that I looked to Itachi and asked, "I need to get ready, it's already 10:30. Nagato will be waiting for me….though I still don't know why he would need my help."

Itachi looked at me with a smirk saying, "I will get the kids ready then. And your brother needs you because you know more about social events than he does. You always put everything into things you love anyways."

I smiled and got on my tip-toes so that I could reach his cheek and give him a quick kiss. I saw a faint smile on his face as I turned around so that I could get ready.

I walked back to my room looking for my kimono that Sasori and Konan had designed specifically for me. Going to the wardrobe I saw it near the back. The kimono was a deep red with a white sakura petal design running from the bottom to the waist. The obi sash was a plain white with black lining. It was a simple yet an elegant kimono that fit me in all the right places.

I took out the kimono and laid it on the bed. I then proceeded to go to the bathroom so that I could take a quick shower. I stripped off my nightgown and hopped into the shower turning the water on. The hot water fell down my back in a soothing way, relaxing all of my sore muscles. Training myself, the twins, and running a village tended to take a toll on my body, but Itachi was always there for me in the end.

I turned off the water, put a towel on, and walked out of the shower. Itachi, my love, my husband, and friend. Over the course of seven years we have gotten closer. Whenever I was tired and just wanted to rest from a long day, he would be there to hold me and let me sleep on his chest. Whenever it was the anniversary of the massacre I went out of my way to transport us to Konoha to visit his family's graves, and for him to see his brother so that they could console each other. We helped each other, and we will never stop. We love each other and not even death could seem to tear us apart.

I smiled to myself as I put on my kimono, sliding it on easily. As I put my red dress on, my long, wet, pink locks cascaded down my back. My hair was about a little past mid-back, I was going to cut it years ago, but I knew Itachi loved my long hair, so I kept it.

Doing some quick hand signs for a little heating jutsu, I put my hand to my hair so that it could dry faster. It was strange, I could still do fire jutsus perfectly without Houou in my body. I even have to admit that I miss her and my mind reading ability, everything was much quieter nowadays without her constantly badgering me in my head, or me hearing the thoughts of others around me.

I walked over to the full length mirror in the bathroom to take a look at myself. I wrapped my black and white obi around my red and white kimono, tying it tightly so that it wouldn't fall off. I then gathered my hair and wrapped it up into a bun sticking two decorative black senbons with white designs in my hair. You never know when a senbon might come in handy after all.

Taking a final look at myself I decided I looked good and didn't need to wear any makeup. I smiled at my reflection as I did a single hand sign, in which cherry blossoms started to swirl all around me transporting me to my brother's home.

I know, his house is only a couple yards away from my own, but transporting there out of the blue is so much more fun.

The petals fell away from my face to show my brother facing me with a smirk. His vibrant red hair and Rinnegan eyes popping out more than anything else. Since he and I age slower than others he still looked the same as he did seven years ago, same with me.

"You know one of these days you are going to pop up in here at the wrong time," Nagato said shaking his head at me turning around and walking upstairs.

I followed him and said with a smile, "Hey, it's not like I haven't seen you and Konan kiss before. I mean Itachi and I _were_ the ones to get you two together so it's only natural that I get the right to see those moments between you two."

As we got to the top step Konan came around the corner in a stunning white kimono with intricate blue patterns embroidered on it, with a plain white obi sash wrapped around her waist. Her hair was in its regular bun with the origami flower placed in her hair, and she still had her piercings in. She looked beautiful.

I whistled lowly and said, "I still wonder how someone like you fell so hard for my idiot brother over here," I jutted out a finger at Nagato making my point.

At this Nagato nudged me harshly in the arm, and I gave him a playful glare. Konan snickered at our antics that have become a daily occurrence and said, "Your brother is quiet amazing Sakura-chan. He is really a big teddy bear."

At this Nagato blushed a bit and I said, "I already knew that! Anyways I see that you are already ready, but my brother here is not…is there a reason for that?"

Konan looked at Nagato and said, "He said that you would be able to pick out something better for him then myself. I agree considering that you normally have to help all the Akatsuki chose what they are to wear for these festivals."

I rubbed that back of my neck and said, "Yeah I know," I then grasped Nagato's hand dragging him to his and Konan's room, "I guess that I will get him ready then."

As we headed down the hallway I heard Konan say, "And by the way Sakura-chan, you look beautiful as always."

I smiled to myself at her words as I opened the door to Nagato and Konan's room. I let go of Nagato's hand as he followed me inside. He closed the door behind him, and looked me in the eyes.

He walked up to me and smiled saying, "She is right you know you do look very beautiful."

I blushed and said, "Thanks, but that means I'm going to have to make you look handsome. We have to be the best looking Kages at the festival after all. Plus being brother and sister just makes us all the more wonderful if you ask me."

He snickered as he walked over to his bed to sit on it, while I went to his closet to pick out something for him to wear. He really didn't have many things of his own in his closet, just civilian clothes, his Kage robes, Akatsuki cloak, and some formal outfits.

As I looked at his garments I hear Nagato say to me, "I'm happy for you Sakura…I still don't know where I would be if you were dead."

I sighed as I grabbed a red yukata that matched the color of my kimono. The yukata was red with black patterns on it, and it came with a simple red sash.

I walked out of his closet holding the yukata and stared at him straight in the eyes. My emerald eyes bore into his ringed ones as I said strongly, "You would be going on with your life. There is no need to think about me being dead, because that is in the past. Just be happy that your wedding is coming up and that my twins look up to you as an idol."

I saw him give a very small smile as he said, "For now, and I like what you have picked out."

Throwing away my serious expression I walked over to him and handed it to him saying, "Put it on, I will be waiting with Konan downstairs."

He nodded and I walked out of the room and went into the large living room where Konan was sitting making origami. She was sitting very peacefully, and I didn't want to disturb her, but her being the ninja she is, she noticed me and called out to me.

I walked over to her and straightened out my kimono before I sat across from her on a lone leather seat.

She picked her head from her origami and looked at me with a gentle smile saying, "You truly do look beautiful Sakura-chan; you make me jealous."

I smirked at her and said, "Oh really I make _you_ jealous? Come on Konan, we both know that you are a whole lot prettier and likeable than I am. I put people through walls while you smile kindly at them. There is a reason why Nagato and I are considered gods here."

She gave me a knowing look and said, "Yes but you are seen as the kinder of the gods, while your brother is the authority. I sometimes wonder why you two always seem to think so little of yourselves…"

I laid back in the chair and said, "That's easy, we are scared of ourselves and what we are capable of. Having the Rinnegan is a lot to take in; I can hide mine while Nagato can't. Being who we are means that we can never be normal, and we can never truly be like others. I like to think that things would be different if either of us didn't have the Rinnegan."

"Well," Konan said softly, "if you see it as a burden to bear you will never see the true beauty you have. To this very day I still think that Itachi was so lucky to find someone as accepting and wonderful as you are. And think of Aki and Ami, one of them is for sure to have the Rinnegan, so you have to make sure that you don't make them see it as a bad thing."

I sighed and folded my hands together saying, "I rather they got the Shaningan, it is less of a burden to bear. Having the Rinnegan usually means that something tragic has happened in your life for it to awaken…and I don't want that for my children."

I lifted my head to look into Konan's gold eyes and asked, "Is there a point as to why you are trying to cheer me up?"

Konan smiled softly and said, "I just want both you and your brother to hold your heads up high at the festival today, and I would like my niece and nephew to see how wonderful their mother is…as well as their father."

I smirked at this and said, "Don't worry they already idolize Itachi, especially Aki."

She nodded her head, "Yes he does, but sometimes I see him leaning towards Sasori more. Aki may be a little wild but he seems calm and cool headed like Itachi when it comes to serious matters."

I laughed and said, "Yeah that's true, though Ami seems to be more like Itachi sometimes while Aki has my brash personality."

Konan was about to speak up but a sudden noise from the staircase stopped her. I turned my head to the stairs as Konan stood up and walked to Nagato who was descending them. His shock of red hair was nicely combed and his yukata with sash was placed loosely on his body.

Konan went up to kiss his cheek and whisper something in his ear, at which he smiled at. Konan then held to his hand as he walked over to where I was sitting. He smiled at me and said, "I believe that the Hokage is arriving very soon, we should go out to greet him."

I hopped up from my chair and nodded cheerfully, happy to see my old team again. From what the last letter Naruto sent me, I knew that he, Sasuke, Kakashi, the Konoha 9, Team Gai, and the rest of the ninja that weren't on guard duty were going to come.

Nagato made a gesture towards the door and opened it, with Konan still holding onto his arm. I followed him out and said, "Hey ley's drop by my place first. I have to pick up Itachi and the kids."

Nagato gave me a solid nod and we walked over to where my house was, only a couple yards away. I walked into the house, Nagato and Konan following, and was bombarded by Aki.

I gave a small grunt as he hugged my legs tightly. Aki was always like this whenever Itachi or I were away for a while or even a couple minutes. At the sound of the door opening Itachi strolled in with Ami following right behind with a wide smile on her face as she went to go hug my brother.

Her long black locks tossed all around her as she hugged onto Nagato's leg, giving him a tight hug. Nagato smiled and bent down to her level to give her a proper hug while saying, "You look very pretty Ami."

I smiled at him, glad to see his soft side showing through. I then turned my attention to what my children were wearing. Aki, who was still hugging me, was wearing a black yukata with a red sash, plain and simple. Ami was wearing a soft green kimono that matched her eyes, with cream flower patterns on it, and she also wore an obi like my own. Her hair was straight and let down, while Aki's hair was shaggy with its little streak of pink.

My kids were just so cute!

Aki then let go of my leg as he ran towards Konan while yelling, "Aunti Konan! I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

I sweat dropped at this, while fixing my kimono and then my pink hair. Fussing over my dress a little more than my hair, I didn't notice that Itachi was coming my way. It was only when I felt his strong hands on my own dainty one was when I was alerted of his presence.

I picked my head up at the sudden contact and was met with ebony orbs. His black hair framed his face, while it was tied back in its customary pony tail, except this time with a red ribbon I gave him five years ago. He was wearing a plain black yukata like Aki, except he had on a black sash and his yukata was slightly open in the chest area. Even though I had been married to this man for almost eight years, I couldn't help but to think how lucky I was to have someone like him in my life. Someone so perfect, at least in my eyes.

His hands rubbed my own as he said, "We should get going yes?"

I nodded my head numbly as he took my hand a led me out of our home where Nagato, Konan, Aki, and Ami were waiting for us. Aki and Ami were holding hands in between Konan and Nagato who held one of the twins' hands. Now their cuteness level just went up a notch for me.

I turned my head to Itachi, who was smiling at our children. He then looked at me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, which I in turn squeezed his hand. He then let go of my hand so that he could place it around my waist, keeping me close.

We started to walk through the village with Konan, Nagato, Ami, and Aki (who were still holding hands together), and we saw all of the villagers and ninjas alike putting up decorations for the festival. Some were jumping the on the roofs to get higher, while civilians set up stands that were for food, games, and small Ame trinkets.

As we walked, we were all greeted by the villagers with the 'sama' at the ends of our names, even with Ami and Aki. Ever since those two were born the villagers, especially the civilians, had taken a great liking to them.

I smiled at those that greeted us, and kept walking with Itachi to the front gates. I smiled at all the peace around me, and my smile got wider as I saw that Konan and Nagato were now swinging Ami and Aki in the air by their hands. My kids were giggling as they were being swung in between their Aunt and Uncle; it was a sight that melted my heart.

The front gate was now in sight, so Ami and Aki started to drag Konan and Nagato so that they could get there faster.

Itachi held me closer and said, "I hope this year that Ami and Aki will not corrupt Minato once more, or we will have an angry Hokage and his wife on our hands again."

I snickered and said, "Oh come on, Minato is just as bad as our kids are when it comes to explosives. Naruto just overreacted as usual."

Itachi just shook his head at me, knowing that they would probably mess with the explosives again this year, just as they have been for the past four years.

We kept walking fast to catch up with our kids, my brother and his fiancée, to hear a very loud shout.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

I sighed already knowing what was coming, so Itachi pulled me closer to him and pulled us both to the right. At this action Naruto, expecting to hug me, was now on the ground. He groaned as he got up, while also rubbing his head. Feeling pity on him, I got myself out of Itachi's grip and went to go help up my poor friend.

He took my hand happily, and as I lifted him up he took the opportunity to grab me quickly so that he could give me a _big_ hug. I gasped a bit, still amazed that his hugs got tighter every time I saw him. I warped my arms around him and said, "Naruto…is there really a reason to scream my name so loud?"

He gave a hearty laugh and said, "Aw Sakura-chan you know you love it! And it has been forever since I last saw my pretty pink haired best friend."

I said playfully, "I didn't know that a month was forever."

He let me go so that he could look at me fully as he said, "Well that was a meeting, and you know how boring those Kage meetings are."

I laughed a bit agreeing with him, while also taking a better look at him. He was wearing an orange, no surprise, yukata with red and white flames running up from the bottom, with a white sash. His blond hair had also gotten a little longer on the sides.

I then looked behind him to see the mass of Konoha shinobi that came with him. At the front of that horde were Kakashi, Sasuke, Hinata, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, all of whom were heading our way. Naruto turned around, seeing that I was looking behind him and shouted, "You guys can come in!"

The Leaf ninja smiled and walked through the gate, looking at Ame with all its decorations hanging around the buildings. They all started to go separate ways to find the friends they made of the Ame shinobi.

I saw Sasuke walking ahead of Kakashi, Hinata, Tsunade, and Jiraiya as he approached Itachi and me. Nagato and Konan were still in front of us, talking to Jiraiya and Tsunade (who was hitting his head for some reason), and Ami and Aki were with Hinata who was holding her son, Minato, hand.

"Brother," Sasuke said nodding to Itachi, who smirked at him, "Sakura," he said nodding to me.

I rolled my eyes and caught him in a hug while saying in his ear, "You know after everything we've been through together I expect something a little more than just saying my name."

He sighed putting his strong arms around me while saying, "Hn."

I pulled back and looked into the eyes that mirrored his brothers saying, "And this is why you can't find a girl to marry, you're such a prude."

He glared at me playfully, but then Naruto put Sasuke in a headlock saying, "Yeah, my teme of a second in a command is too stiff with the ladies."

Sasuke growled at him, while trying to get out of his grip. He succeeded and said, "You dobe, you would think I'm Hokage after all the paperwork I do for you."

Naruto shrugged and said, "Well it works so I'm not complaining."

I laughed at them and said, "Sasuke-kun is a little more responsible than you are Naruto."

Naruto put his hands behind his head and gave a foxy grin, "While that may be true, I can still kick teme's ass any day and he knows it."

At this Sasuke said, "Dobe," and preceded to hit him in the head.

"Sasuke, please don't use so much violence on my husband," I soft voice intruded.

I looked behind my teammates to see that Hinata was coming up behind Naruto and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. She was wearing a simple purple kimono with white flower patterns, and her long violet hair was down. Holding onto her hand was her and Naruto's son, Minato who was in an orange yukata with red swirls on it, along with a white sash. His hair was a blond mess, with spikes jutting out every which way, and his bright blue eyes with violet speck smiled.

I smiled at her and said, "It's nice to see you again Hinata," I then looked at her son and said, "you too Minato."

Minato grinned at me; his father's grin, and said, "I missed you Aunt Sakura!"

He then ran forward to hug me, and I went down to his level so that I could hug him back. When he was done hugging me he got out of my arms, and jumped right up into Itachi's arms. Itachi was slightly taken by surprise, but smirked while holding onto Minato.

"I missed you too Uncle Itachi," Minato said while snuggling into Itachi's chest.

Itachi smirked and said, "As well as I, have you been a good boy for your father and mother?"

At this Minato vigorously nodded his head saying, "Yup, my dad and mom have been teaching me a lot of things, and I'm learning them really fast too."

Itachi put the blond haired child down while saying, "That is very good to hear."

He then poked Minato's forehead with his two fingers.

Minato pouted and whined, "Aw Uncle Itachi, why do you always do that to me?"

I was about to speak, but Sasuke beat me to it while scoffing, "He used to do that to me all the time when I was your age, and he does it to Ami and Aki as well."

I nodded in agreement. It seemed that Itachi couldn't let go of that habit of poking people in the forehead, normally he would always do it to Aki more than anyone else.

Aki and Ami both came up on either side of Minato and said in tandem, "Dad why do you have to do that?"

Itachi smirked, while poking the twins in the forehead with either of his hands while saying, "Because I love you two very much."

Ami pouted and said, "At least Mom doesn't do that."

I went up to her a ruffled her black locks smiling, "Yeah, your father just has a strange habit."

Itachi shook his head at me and said, "You know you love it."

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "You know me so well weasel."

Aki and Ami then turned to Sasuke and yelled, "Uncle Chicken Ass!"

They then hugged him on his waist as Sasuke glared at me and Itachi saying, "I still think you told them to call me that Sakura."

I put a hand in front of my mouth to hide my laugh and said, "Nope, they came up with that one all on their own."

He deadpanned at me, "Of course they did."

A lazy voice then cut in saying, "No love for grandpa?"

At this Aki and Ami turned away from Sasuke and tackled Kakashi to the ground yelling, "Grandpa Kakashi!"

He laughed on the ground saying, "How's it going my little grandchildren?"

They got off of him and Ami said in a kind voice, "Very good, but we have missed you."

Aki piped in, "Yeah, I missed braiding your silver hair, Uncle Nagato won't let me braid his hair, and Dad's isn't as fun to braid as yours."

Kakashi gave a nervous laugh and said, "How about we refrain from the braiding for a while kay."

Aki looked a little defeated but agreed.

Kakashi got off the ground and dusted off his plain green yukata, then walked towards me giving me a quick hug. He then said, "I'm glad to see that your kids haven't changed at all."

I smiled and said, "Well they are quite hyper at times."

Itachi then spoke up, "It is nice to see you again, Kakashi."

"Likewise," the silver haired man said, "have you been treating my little daughter well?"

"I would like to think so," Itachi said.

I rolled my eyes and said, "You say that every time you talk to him Kakashi."

Kakashi gave me a one eyed smile, "Just checking up on you like any father would."

I smiled and then turned my attention to Ami and Aki who were now running around with Minato. I smiled at them and yelled in their direction, "Ami, Aki how about you go with Minato and play around the village while your mom and dad wait for everyone else to arrive."

I saw the three of them nod and run to where a large garden was in the right side of Ame. I then walked up to my brother and Konan, who were still talking to Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Seeing me walking up Tsunade said, "Nice to see your doing well Amekage Sakura."

I raised a brow at her playfully and said, "No need for titles, you know that. How are things?"

Tsunade gave me a large smile and said, "Still losing bets and dealing with this idiot over here," pointing at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya then said, "You know you love me Tsunade."

She scoffed and said, "In your dreams."

I then looked at what they were wearing; Tsunade was wearing an indigo kimono with white designs that brought out her diamond on her forehead, and her hair was still in its blond pig tails. Jiraiya was wearing a plain red yukata that was wide open in the front, with a red sash, his white long hair splayed around him.

I took pity on Jiraiya and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, she loves you but is too stubborn to admit it."

At this Tsunade shouted my name while Nagato said, "I agree, you two do go well together."

Tsunade then turned on him and said, "Since when do you know anything about relationships brat?"

Konan answered for him saying, "Since Sakura-chan beat the knowledge into him."

I crossed my arms and gave a grunt of affirmation. I felt Itachi hold me by the waist from behind as he said, "I believe I sense the Kazekage and his men coming."

When I heard this I looked towards the gate to sense their chakra signatures. When Gaara's red hair came into sight Naruto yelled, "GAARA!" and went to hug him, and hug him he did.

I saw Gaara roll his eyes and say, "It is nice to see that you haven't changed Naruto."

Temari then came up and beat Naruto off her little brother with her fan and huffed at him.

Gaara, who was dressed in his Kage robes, then approached Nagato and me while his ninja went off into different directions to look for friends.

"It is nice to see you again Amekages," Gaara said with formality.

I laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "And like I told Tsunade, titles are not needed, well at least not for me."

Gaara gave me a small smile and nodded, while Nagato said, "It is nice to see you again Kazekage."

Gaara nodded at him, and preceded to say hello to Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto (again), Sasuke, and Itachi. While they were giving greetings I got out of Itachi's arms to bend down to Gaara's legs where I saw his six year old son, Sora, hanging onto his legs.

He was a mini Gaara with the same red hair and green eyes, and he wore a light brown yukata. He also held a small brown teddy bear in his hand while the other hand was wrapped around his father's leg. Ever since Gaara's wife and Sora's mother died a couple years ago, Sora had become clingier.

I smiled softly at him and said, "Hello there Sora."

Seeing me he peaked around his father's leg and said, "Hello Aunt Sakura…do you know where Ami and Aki are?"

I was about to answer him but Naruto injected saying, "How about I take you to them and Minato, Sora?"

Sora shyly nodded his head and let go of Gaara's leg while dragging his teddy bear with him. His bright green eyes shimmered as he stretched his small hand to Naruto's outstretched one and grasped it. Naruto smiled and led Sora off to where Ami, Aki, and Minato were playing in the gardens.

I smiled softly and looked at Gaara saying, "Sora just gets cuter every time I see him."

"Agreed," Tsunade said.

Gaara smiled and said, "Yes, but I hope this time Aki and Minato don't make him do anything stupid like they did last year."

Sasuke smirked and said, "I don't doubt it since Aki and Minato can be trouble makers."

Itachi crept behind Sasuke and said, "What was that foolish little brother?"

_**Ame: 8 hours later**_

All of the Kages and their ninjas were now here, enjoying the festivals. I was in the Kage area with Itachi. Konan and Nagato were being hounded for wedding plans by the Mizukage, Naruto was talking to Gaara, and the other Kages were having their own conversations.

I sat down in one of the Amekage chairs while Itachi stood behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. We were now waiting for the fireworks to start, and I was tired from all the events I had to go to today.

Itachi lifted me out of my chair, at which I raised an eyebrow at. His arms snaked around my waist pulling me closer while saying in my ear, "You look beautiful tonight Mrs. Uchiha."

I smiled and said, "And you look very handsome Mr. Uchiha."

I was about to turn and kiss him but some voices stopped us, "Oi, you two can kiss later alright?"

I turned my head to the strong voice to see Kisame walking into the Kage area with Aki on his left shoulder and Ami on his right shoulder. Following behind him was Deidara and Sasori.

I glared at him and said, "So what were my kids doing this time?"

Sasori came up, with Minato on his back saying, "They decided that they wanted to put up the fireworks."

"Yeah," Deidara said, who was carrying Sora, "they were trying to take my job, un."

At this Ami said from Kisame's shoulder, "Uncle Dei, Fishy-chan, and Sasipo said we couldn't touch them Mom."

Naruto came over then with Gaara in tow saying, "Minato whose idea was this."

Before the blond haired child could answer Sora hopped out of Deidara's arms and ran to his dad while carrying his teddy bear. When he got to Gaara's leg he said in a quiet voice, "Minato said that it would be fun."

Naruto groaned and took Minato off of Sasori's back reprimanding him, "How many times do I have to tell you not to corrupt little Sora's mind?"

Minato looked down shamefully and said, "Sorry Dad."

At this Naruto hugged his son very tight and shouted, "I love you so much!"

I, along with many others, sweat dropped at this and said, "Naruto I think you're suffocating your son."

At my words, Naruto let go of Minato and placed him on the ground giving a sheepish grin.

Deidara then spoke up saying, "Well I'm going back to the fireworks."

He walked away in his yellow yuakta to where the fireworks place was located. I then looked at Sasori to see that he was wearing a bright red yukata, while Kisame was wearing a blue one. They both cleaned up well for the festival in my opinion.

Itachi then spoke up in a monotone, "Kisame, will you please put my children down."

Aki pouted at this and whined, "But Dad, Uncle Fishy-chan said we could stay on his shoulders to watch the fireworks."

Kisame gave a toothy grin, "You heard the kid Itachi." He then walked off to where the ninjas were gathered below the Kage area, and Sasori followed behind him.

All of the ninja from the six hidden villages were gathered below the platform where the Kages were, and they were all mingling and talking amongst themselves. And to think that this wasn't possible only seven years ago.

I felt Itachi tighten his grasp around my waist as he whispered in my ear, "I believe that the fireworks are about to begin."

He was right, because as soon as he said that a loud explosion was heard and a colorful display was now in the sky, courtesy of Deidara.

I leaned into Itachi more and looked around me. Seeing my friends, ninja and Kages alike, all around me gave me a sense of peace of mind. I was glad that I didn't die all those years ago, I was glad that I made a family with Itachi and that I ruled by my brother's side.

Everything was just perfect.

As we watched the fireworks Itachi sneaked a kiss, which I returned. His lips gave mine a gentle caress as colorful explosions were heard all around. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around my waist holding me close. His kiss was soft and gentle, everything that Itachi Uchiha truly was.

He broke the kiss and put his forehead on my own, while giving me a real smile.

"I love you Sakura," he said in a voice laced with warmth.

I smiled a large smile and whispered, "I love you too Itachi."

As we looked at each other, caught in each other's eyes, I couldn't help but to think about the era of peace we now had. This Golden Age of Peace would last forever, but even if it didn't I knew that I would always have the man I love by my side.

**The End**

**~Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in anyway, just the plot.**

**And that's it! 37 chapters later and New Revelations is now done…kind of sad but I'm very happy that my first fanfic turned out so well thanks to all of you!**

**Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed or subscribed to the story it means a lot!**

**Please Review once more for the final chapter to tell me how you think the ending was :)**


End file.
